It Costs An Arm And A Leg!
by Armchair Legend
Summary: When Hisao's attempt to first enter the gates of Yamaku is interrupted by a rather uncouth newcomer, hilarity ensues in the form of puns, prop gags, and overacting. Overlaps with the Hisao/Lilly route. And yes, there will be feels. All the feels. Rated T for language.
1. Ham On Wry

Blue eyes wandered over the black wrought iron gate skeptically. After a moment, they flickered to the red brick and gray plaster. The young man to whom the eyes belonged frowned.

It looked far too pompous for what it actually was, he decided. _In fact, gates in general seem to do that, but this one especially so._

His thoughts were interrupted by another arrival. He wondered how he'd missed the newcomer, as he looked over at the other man who now stood beside him.

"Yo," said the newcomer with a nod before he looked at the gate and stroked his chin. "Huh, nice place. Very... hm. Art deco, I suppose. No, that doesn't seem right... Gothic? Definitely not. Hm..." He switched from his chin to his head, and scratched the scalp underneath his very short dark brown hair. "Ah, it doesn't matter."

The newcomer's bluish-green eyes met the young man's blue eyes.

"You too?" The newcomer gestured with his head toward the buildings beyond the gate.

"That's right," the young man admitted, as he tried and failed to figure out where the newcomer's accent came from.

"Cool," said the newcomer. "Name's Maru. Given name. You?"

"Hisao," said the young man. "Hisao Nakai."

"Ah, pleasure to meet you," Maru said, and extended a hand while sizing Hisao up. _Huh. Sweatervest. Don't see that too often. Kinda nerdy. Pretty normal seeming guy otherwise, really. Seems nice enough, at least. And brown idiot hair. Don't see too many ahoges, actually._

Hisao shook Maru's hand while returning the favor. _Black shirt and shorts, white long sleeved button-up shirt unbuttoned... and an artificial leg._ He looked away. "Thank you," he said after a moment. "Likewise," he added as an afterthought.

If Maru noticed Hisao looking at his leg, he gave no indication. "Not a problem," he replied as he looked back at the school. "So, what're you in for?"

Hisao stared at Maru, mouth open to reply, but not able to get a word out.

Maru winced slightly. "Ahh... touchy subject?"

"...A little bit," Hisao admitted.

"Ah, well, forget I asked then," Maru said with a wave of his hand. "Sorry, I pretty much ran out of tact a long time ago."

"It's fine," Hisao said evenly.

"As to me, well." Maru waved his left arm around.

Hisao noticed for the first time that there wasn't a hand sticking out from the long sleeve.

Maru pulled the sleeve downward, revealing why. It truncated abruptly a little over halfway down his forearm. Leading up to the stump was increasingly heavier scarring. "Suppose my reason's pretty obvious really," he said with an amused smirk.

Hisao blinked. "...I'm not sure how to respond to that, actually." _Is it alright to joke about that sort of thing? What is with this guy?_

Maru let out a barking laugh. "Don't worry about it, it's cool. Shit happens, and all that." He waved his hand dismissively. "I have to say though, this place is expensive as hell."

"Oh?" Hisao frowned. He didn't know how much his parents were spending to send him to Yamaku, but he knew it probably wasn't cheap.

"Yeah," Maru said as a grin split his face, revealing a missing canine on his lower right and a chipped incisor on his upper left. "This place costs an arm and a leg!"

"Uh." Hisao groaned as the pun came through.

"You're groaning now, and I've barely even started," Maru said with a smirk. "I have a million of these. And that's only slight exaggeration."

"Is it alright to be joking about that?" Hisao said.

"In my case, yes," Maru replied seriously. "What, do you want me to start bawling?" He got down on his knees, and pantomimed putting his hands together before talking again, in a more emotional voice. "Oh mama! They took my arm and leg! Whatever shall I doooooo?!"

Hisao's face twitched briefly.

"Oh, it's the end of the woooooorld! Oh nooooooo!" Maru began to roll around on the ground.

"H-hey!" Hisao took a step back from Maru's melodramatic actions. "That's enough of that!"

"Hah!" Maru pushed himself back up and dusted himself off. "Well that was fun."

"...You're a very strange person," Hisao said at last.

"Damn straight," Maru said, and gave Hisao the thumbs up. "Anyway, shall we go in? They're probably wondering why there's a crazy guy out here."

"Oh." Hisao turned back to the gate. "Yeah." He shook his head and pushed the gate in, heading at a brisk pace. It felt good, until he noticed Maru limping slightly right alongside.

"Nice place," Maru said.

"I suppose," Hisao replied with a shrug. _It feels more like a park than a school. Clean and hygienic. _ He shuddered.

"Lovely ambience," Maru continued as he looked around, unaware of Hisao's discomfort. "Clear air..." He took a deep breath. "Nice."

Hisao didn't reply, as he tried to shake off his feelings about the school and be open minded. It was his new life, after all. He looked over at Maru. _I guess we don't all have the same reaction to this sort of thing. Of course, he may be used to being in this kind of place._ He shook that thought out of his head. _I need to get used to it too, now. Maybe I should follow his example._

Maru continued through it, oblivious. _I wonder how this'll be, _he thought._ Guess it doesn't much matter, though. Really is a nice place for it, at least. Kind of reminds me of a college campus. Big halls, lots of trees and open land... Kind of nostalgic, really._

They entered through the front door of the main building. Maru opened the door for Hisao with an 'after you', and then followed him inside.

A tall man with bad posture noticed them as the pair entered. "You must be..." The man smiled slightly, as if at some in-joke. "Kobayashi and..." The smile disappeared. "Ni... Na... Niki?"

_Bugger,_ thought Maru with a wince.

"Nakai," Hisao said as he looked over at Maru.

"Yeah, hole in one," Maru admitted with a sigh.

"...Kobayashi Maru?" Hisao ventured as he tried to stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

"Dad was a fan of Star Trek," Maru replied simply with a frown and shrug.

"You don't say," Hisao said.

Maru snorted.

"Excellent," said the tall man lethargically. "I'm your homeroom and science teacher. My name is Mutou. Welcome." Mutou shakes Hisao's and then Maru's hand before looking at his watch. "The head nurse asked you for a brief check-in visit, but there's no time for that now."

"Oh," said Hisao.

"Probably just as well, really," Maru said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Got awful sick of doctors and nurses. No sense of humor, most of them. Always 'do this, Maru.' 'Stop that, Maru.' 'Enough with the puns, Maru!' Sheesh."

Hisao leaned away from Maru while Mutou sighed.

Maru coughed. "Ah, anyway... After classes then?"

"Yes, afternoon is probably fine," Mutou replied. "We should get going and introduce you two to the rest of the class. They're waiting already."

"Splendid," Maru chimed happily, in contrast to Hisao's sudden nervousness. "Shall we, then?"

"Well, that answers for you," Mutou said. "Hisao, do you want to introduce yourself to the class?"

"Yeah, sure," Hisao replied. "I mean, isn't that normal?"

"Only if you don't do it right," Maru interjected. "If you're going to make a first impression, make it memorable."

"It is normal, of course," Mutou said as he directed a brief glare at Maru. "But not everyone likes to be at the center of attention."

Hisao glanced meaningfully at Maru, who looked to the side and whistled innocently.

"Certain people notwithstanding, of course," Mutou admitted.

"Right, well, it's no problem," Hisao said.

Maru turned and gave him the thumbs up with a grin. "That's the spirit! Now, let's take them by storm!"

"Oh bother," Mutou muttered under his breath before he shook his head. "Let's go then."

Hisao wasn't sure whether or not Maru helped, as the three of them went up the stairs with Mutou in front. He was still nervous, but he also knew he wouldn't be the only one to do an introduction, which was calming; misery loves company, as it were. Maru also seemed like he would draw most of the attention and keep him out of the limelight, which also helped.

On the other hand, he wasn't sure he wanted to know how Maru would introduce himself. Given his overdramatic display earlier to a complete stranger, he suspected anything was possible. Maru could also be one of those people that acted fine but folded when given a bigger audience, unlikely though that seemed.

Maru, for his part, wasn't entirely sure how he was going to introduce himself either. _Man of wealth and taste? Naw, wrong impression. Funny idea, though. Good Morning Vietnam reference? ...Don't want to deafen anyone. Kirk speech? ...The puns will be bad enough as is- wait, am I rejecting _bad puns_? ...Provided that anyone gets the reference anyway... Well, Hisao did, but... Hm._

Mutou led them to the third door down the third floor, a door appropriately marked as 3-3. He opened the door and entered.

"Good morning everyone," he said, "sorry I'm late again."

Hisao hesitated for a split second, which let Maru slip past him into the classroom.

* * *

Welcome to my story, one and all! This'll be sort of a rewrite of KS, with the addition of a new character. How original. Anyway, I'm going to base the chapters on what's presented in the novel. As a consequence, some of the chapters will likely look very familiar, particularly at first. Hopefully the transition from first person to third person will help there. Also, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this. Hopefully something like weekly, but if not, well, I got busy. Anyway, enjoy!


	2. Enter Stage Left, Enter Stage Right

Hisao stared dumbfounded at Maru's back for a moment. _Have to admire that sort of confidence, _he reflected. _Okay, get a grip. This is a big step, I know that... but there isn't any point to worrying so much about it, at least not this soon. _ He followed after Maru and looked around, in an effort to avoid curious gazes.

Maru met gazes, and returned them with a smile and a nod as he made his way to stand beside Mutou. As he came to a stop, he gave the class an informal salute, and then crossed his arms and smirked. _Huh, interesting set. Pretty normal class really, when you get down to it. Except for that hair. _ He narrowly avoided raising an eyebrow at a girl with pink hair, done up in classy drills. _Now that's a hairstyle and a half._

Hisao faced the class only as he came to stand beside Maru. _They all look normal, like students in any other school. But then, why would they be here?_ He noticed that one of the girls seemed to be missing the thumb of her right hand, and blinked.

Mutou started to introduce the two to the classroom, but neither Hisao nor Maru paid too much attention to him, albeit for different reasons.

_Ah man, the waiting's killing me,_ Maru thought as his heart began to beat faster in anticipation.

Hisao noticed a flash of dark hair, and looked toward the source. A girl with eye-catchingly long, straight hair was looking at him. As he met her gaze, she covered her face with her hands. He looked to the side, and noticed that one boy had a cane, which leaned against the lockers at the rear of the class. _It's weird seeing someone so young with a cane,_ he reflected.

Movement caught both Maru's and Hisao's attention, as another girl made motions with her hands.

Hisao frowned. _Sign language?_

Maru blinked. He recognized, vaguely, the motions of sign language. He didn't know any variation of it though, and was forced to shrug and mouth, "Sorry."

The girl peered over the rims of her glasses at the two, then went back to her previous task.

_Well, that went well,_ thought Maru. _Man. I hope we don't have to all know sign language. I'm bad with languages, and I think you need two hands for it besides. Maybe. ...Eh, I'll just have to roll with it one way or another._

_She's kind of cute,_ Hisao thought. _So is the cheery-looking girl with the pink hair sitting next to her. _He blinked. _She's really hard to miss; I don't know how I didn't notice her the moment I walked in..._

"...please welcome our newest classmates," said Mutou. He clapped his hands, and so too did everyone else with the exception of a girl in the first row who had only one hand.

Hisao cringed a little, but hid it by bowing in thanks for the applause he did not feel he deserved.

Maru noticed Hisao's bow out of the corner of his eye, and gave one of his own. It was a theatric bow, with his right arm stretched out and his left held inward, as opposed to the traditional bow.

The classroom was silent with anticipation.

_Well, here goes nothing, _Maru thought as his heart raced faster still, adrenaline beginning to take hold. "...I... am MARU!" He grinned somewhat maniacally. "AND I AM A LAAAARGE HAAAAAAM! MILK THE GIANT COOOOOOW," he roared, as he held his arms to the sky.

Reactions were mixed. Most of the class stared at Maru as though he were insane. Mutou gave Maru a subtle glare. Some people laughed, including the one handed girl in the first row. The pink haired girl's laughter was easily the loudest, even as she shakily said something in sign language. "...WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Hisao took a step back from Maru. "...Uh." _Why am I surprised by this?_

"Thank you, thank you very much," Maru said in his best Elvis voice as he took another theatrical bow, his heart rate beginning to slow slightly. _Woo! That was fun!_

"...So... I'm Hisao Nakai," Hisao began, "and I have no idea how to follow that."

"Wahahahaha!"

"Um, my hobbies are reading and soccer," he continued. "I hope to get along with everyone even though I'm a new student."

"Oh!" Maru blinked. "Hobbies. Right. Um... well, I like woodworking. And reading. And making a fool of myself for an audience." He grinned, and then turned to Hisao. "Thanks for reminding me, didn't think of that at all."

"...Don't mention it," Hisao replied. _I feel like I should be trying to upstage him, somehow. I'm being so boring. This is exactly like every self-introduction ever. _ A competitive spark struck within. _Maybe... I should do something similar?_ The spark grew, and he acted. "...I CAN ALSO HAM," he roared.

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Maru broke out into another grin. "Ohohohohahahaha...!" He gave Hisao the thumbs up. "That was good! Needs practice, but good start!"

Mutou's glare now focused on Hisao.

The girl with the glasses looked as though she was trying to frown and smile at the same time.

_Is that approval or derision? Still, that could have gone worse,_ Hisao thought as he saw this. He also noticed that a few girls were whispering to each other and throwing both he and Maru glances. _They seem satisfied._

Maru continued to grin. _I'd like to sit down now, _he thought. _That's fun and all, but the adrenaline crash sure takes it out of you._

"I hope you two can get along with everyone," Mutou said.

The class clapped their hands again, which Hisao felt was a weird thing to do. The first row girl clapped on this round, with her one hand against the other wrist that ended in a bandaged stump. It made him feel a little bad.

Maru didn't notice anything other than the clapping as he looked to Mutou. He did, however, nod to the class in acknowledgement.

"We're going to be doing some group work today," Mutou said, "so that will give you two a chance to talk with everyone. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure, suit's me," Maru said.

"Yeah, it's fine with me," said Hisao.

"That's good," Mutou said with a hint of a smile. "Hisao, you can work with Hakamichi. She is the class representative. She can explain anything you might want to know. And who else would be able to do that better, right? Maru..." He regarded him with a small frown. "...You can work with Miura. She will do just as well, I think."

"Cool," Maru replied. "Uh..." He looked around the classroom for a moment as Mutou picked up a stack of papers and began to hand them out.

"We will be working in groups of three," Mutou said.

Maru shrugged. "So, who's Miura?"

The girl in the front row waved her single hand.

"Ah, right." Maru moved to take the empty seat behind her.

"Uh, and Hakamichi?" Hisao looked around helplessly.

As he called out her name, the cute, bubbly looking girl with bright pink hair and gold eyes waved her hand at Hisao. He took the seat next to her, by the window.

"Hey, I guess you're Hakamichi, right? It's nice to meet you," Hisao said.

"Hahaha~!"

Hisao blinked, caught off guard. 'What?'

"It's nice to meet you too! But~! I'm not Hakamichi, I'm Misha!" The pink-haired girl pointed at the girl with glasses with a giggle. "This is Hakamichi. Shicchan~!"

'Shicchan' nodded once nonchalantly at Hisao, in acknowledgement of his presence.

"It's nice to meet you," Hisao ventured.

Shicchan immediately looked to Misha, who smiled and made a few quick gestures with her hands. Shicchan nodded and made a few gestures of her own.

_Was the teacher messing with me? _Hisao wondered. _"You'll be able to talk to people" and "Who better to explain things to you."_

"I can see you're a little confused, right? Right? But," Misha continued, "I understand why you would think I was Shicchan! Shicchan is deaf, so I'm the person who translates things back and forth for her." She grinned. "I'm like an interpreter~! She says it's nice to meet you, too, and that she respects your effort to outdo the competition, although she disproves of making a fool of yourself as a first impression~!"

"I honestly don't know why I did that," Hisao admitted. "I couldn't just let it go."

Shicchan shrugged and made a few gestures.

"You're the other new student," Misha said, "aren't you? Well, Shicchan, of course he is! If he wasn't, he would have been standing up there for no reason, right? Right~! He seems like a very interesting person, doesn't he~! We knew there were going to be new students, but we didn't know you would be here today. So soon! Hicchan, right?"

"Hicchan...?" Hisao looked at her, confused.

"Yup~!" Misha grinned again. "It fits, doesn't it?"

_Did I say it out loud? _Hisao mused. _It's a bit of a surprise. I never liked that nickname. _ "I don't really see how."

"It fits~!" Misha gave another face splitting grin. "You look just like I imagined!"

Shicchan gestured, and Misha laughed.

"Hahahaha~! Yeah, you look just like a Hicchan!"

"I wonder why everyone seems to think so...," Hisao wondered aloud. As he thought about that, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced over, and saw what looked like a trail of dark hair from the doorway, but it was gone so quickly he couldn't be sure. He glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed, and saw Maru saying something to the one-handed girl in front of him, eyebrow raised. The seat behind him was empty.

Somehow, it didn't surprise him that Maru was behind it.

Shicchan tapped her fingers on the desk to get Misha's attention, which also distracted Hisao from the matter. They gesture back and forth to each other excitedly, their hands a blur. Misha seemed a little overwhelmed.

"Ahaha~! Er, sorry about that!" Misha recovered rapidly. "Shicchan wants you to know that she's the class rep, so if there is anything you need to know, you can feel free to ask her."

Shicchan made some more gestures.

"Do you like the school so far? We can show you around a little if you haven't had the time to walk around and... familiarize?" Misha stumbled with the hard word a bit, "yourself with it! And the same goes for Macchan!"

"Thanks, that would be pretty helpful," Hisao said. "Yeah, I just kind of came straight to class today." He paused. "Macchan?"

"The other new student~!" Misha grinned. "He seems like a Macchan!"

"Oh." Hisao nodded. "I'll pass that on, if we talk again."

Shicchan frowned and gestured.

"Hahaha~! That's no good! You should always try to learn as much as you can about where you're going before you go there," Misha said. "Not just with school, either~!" She grinned. "Always! Even if it's a trip to the convenience store! Really, Shicchan? Hahaha~!" She blinked. "Oh, you don't know Macchan? I thought you did!"

"We just met each other outside the gate," Hisao admitted. _Learn about where you're going? I guess I didn't bother to do that, or just didn't care enough to do so. _ He frowned. _I didn't look forward to this, even if I committed myself to go along with it half-assedly, but anyway._

Misha signed something that ended with a shrug.

_What was that?_ Hisao wondered. _It seems like it was about me. _ He felt like slumping over in his seat. The shrug hit him unexpectedly deeply, in spite of their smiles.

"You look down," Misha observed, "are you okay?"

Shicchan gestured.

"Don't take it the wrong way, please~! I hate it when people are afraid to ask questions! That's how people learn things, by asking~! Asking for help is perfectly normal," Misha stated exuberantly, "as much as needing help! Stop looking like you just failed a test! Wahahaha~!"

"All right," Hisao replied.

Shicchan made more gestures.

"Ah, and another thing," Misha said, "you don't have to call Shicchan something so formal like 'Hakamichi' or 'class rep' all the time! Just call her Shicchan~!"

Shicchan's eyes widened some at that.

"Ahaha~! Okay," Misha admitted, "maybe that's too casual. Maybe 'Shizune' would be more appropriate?"

Shizune gestured.

"Yup, yup~!" Misha grinned. "'Shizune' is fine!"

"Heh. Okay," Hisao said, "that would be a lot easier for me." _I feel a lot more at ease, with both of them seeming so friendly. I feel like an idiot for being so apprehensive earlier. Especially about Shizune, who I assumed would be all business._ He thought about that for a moment. _Well, she still seems like that. Just less so, I guess._

Shizune gestured emphatically.

"Huh?" Misha blinked. "Oh, right, we haven't even touched the assignment! We should start work now, or Shicchan will get mad."

He looked at the assignment. "...The assignment is also kind of long, so we should start now if we want to finish it before the end of class."

Misha grinned wide. "Wahaha~! That too!"

Shizune glared at Hisao and Misha impatiently.

"Okay, okay," he said, "I get the message."

"After class," Misha said, "We can take a walk around the grounds together. It's a nice day today! Okay~?"

The three of them began to work on the assignment. Even with their late start, they finished a few minutes earlier than anyone else in the class.

_Shizune and Misha are really capable,_ Hisao had to admit. _They're quite different, though. The class rep is as calm and professional as she looks, while Misha is a lot more playful and girlish. Not to mention a little more easily distracted. They did most of the work, too. I feel guilty about that._

His introspection was interrupted by the clock tower bell ringing, signaling that it was time for lunch. Without knowing what else to do, he followed Misha, who beckoned him into the hallway and down the stairs.

* * *

Okay, so wow... When I posted this story, I figured I'd get one or two hits, maybe eventually a review when I hit 5 chapters or so... Already have 30+ hits and 2 reviews. I'm fuddled, flabbergasted, and flummoxed. Truly, I am floored. Mister Vault 101 and WarbirdHD, both of you, thank you. You two made my day. =) I am truly flattered.

By the way, this chapter has been brought to you by the letter F.


	3. Good Meeting, Bad Meeting

Meanwhile, Maru was greeted by Miura.

"That was quite the introduction," Miura observed with a smirk. "I'm Miki Miura, nice to meet you."

"And I am Maru Kobayashi," he returned with a smirk of his own. "Pleasure's all mine." He held out his remaining hand.

Miki shook it. "Just call me Miki, by the way. Surnames are too stuffy."

"Cheers to that," Maru replied with a nod. "Oh hey, twins!" He held up his stump.

Miki gave a chuckle. "Looks like it, doesn't it?"

"Indeed!" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully with an amused smile. "You missing a leg, too?"

"No," Miki replied. "Guess we're not twins, then."

"Alas!" Maru gave a theatric shrug. "Well anyway, what's this assignment thing, anyway? Oh, wait, we're supposed to be in groups of three, aren't we?"

"Yup," she replied. "Looks like everyone's already grouped up, though."

"Ah, that's a pity," he said as he looked around, before noticing the long haired girl behind him. It took him a considerable effort not to blink as he saw her more closely than he had in his cursory scan of the room. At least a third, if not half of her face was pretty badly scarred. He made doubly sure to focus his attention on her sole visible eye, and nodded to cover his surprise.

The girl stared back wide eyed, as her right hand moved to cover the scarred side of her face.

The movement made him glance at the hand, and he noticed that it was scarred as well. _Ouch, that must have hurt,_ he reflected while suppressing a wince. "Ah, so, want to be in our group?" he asked. "We're one short."

"U-um," she began, as she moved back in her seat slightly.

"Ah- wait," Miki hissed.

"Huh? Ah..." It took Maru a moment to realize what was wrong. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..." He cleared his throat.

"It... it's okay," the long haired girl replied.

"I'm Maru Kobayashi," he said. "I'm the new guy. Other new guy. Nice to meet you?"

"I... I know," she replied. "H-H-Hanako. I'm... Hanako. It's... nice to meet you too."

He grinned and offered his hand to her.

She stared at the offered appendage for a long moment. "Um..." Hanako's eyes widened. "I... I..."

He frowned after a moment, and pulled his hand back to smooth his hair over. "Ah, sorry."

She stood up unexpectedly. "Ivegottogodosomething!" She darted through the desks with surprising agility, and left through the door.

The movement caught some attention from the other students, yet Maru was left with a sense that no one really noticed. "Uh," he replied, seconds after she had left the class. He turned his head to Miki with a raised eyebrow. "...Was it something I said? Did?" He paused and glanced around, positive for a moment that he was being watched but not finding any eyes on him.

Miki sighed. "No, it's just that... well, I don't know. She's, it's just... she's got some issues, I think. I can't really put it in a nice way. Not that I don't think she's a nice person though. She's perfectly nice. Just... hard to deal with."

"Ah," he replied, and then frowned. "...I still feel like a complete heel, now." _Well, day had been going well until now... Hope I get the chance to apologize._

"Sorry," she replied, "I tried to warn you about her, but it was already too late. Don't worry about it, though. Just, you know, take it easy with her."

"Yeah," he replied. After a few quiet moments, he looked down at the assignment. "Well! It's not going to do itself, is it?"

"Heh!" She grinned. "No, it's not."

"Well, let's get at it, then!" He started reading. _Biology, fun. Well, this all seems pretty familiar, at least. Should be a fair snap to get it all done._

Between the two of them, they got most of the assignment done in fairly short order. Maru had to keep checking the book and asking Miki for vocabulary however; he knew the concepts, but he never was good at holding down the terminology.

"You're pretty good at this," Miki admitted as he wrote down another answer.

"Ah, well, I've had a bit of experience with this sort of thing before," Maru replied with a smirk.

"Oh?" She crossed her arms with a smile. "Where at?"

"Oh... here and there," he said. "Biology textbooks and the like. Always had a head for it." He waved his hand nonchalantly.

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Well, it makes doing all of this pretty easy at least."

"Heh, good to know," he replied, and then looked to Hisao's group. "Ah, we've been beaten."

"Hakamichi's very fast," Miki said with a wink. "And a bit of a slave-driver too. It wouldn't surprise me if they made the new guy do most of the work."

"Funny, I don't remember doing their work," Maru observed with a smirk.

She snorted in amusement. "Hah! No, the other new guy."

He scratched his chin. "Heh, that bad?"

"Well," she started, "yes and no. Her and the human foghorn are the student council. It used to be more than those two, but she drove the others away by being a bit of a taskmaster. Very Type-A personality."

"I see, I see," he replied. He would keep the warning in mind, but he wouldn't judge, not without having spoken to her himself. He knew well how some people would lie about others. Miki didn't seem the kind, but appearances were deceiving. "I have to admit, that does sound annoying," he said at last. "But, we should get this thing done, yes?"

"Heh! You're right," Miki replied.

They finished just in time for the bell to ring. People turned in their assignments and began to filter out of the classroom.

"Well, time for lunch," Miki said with a smile. "You coming?"

Normally, Maru would have went along with her. But after the incident with Hanako, his ability to deal with people had about reached its limit. He needed a few minutes to himself to recharge. "Ah, another time, I think," he replied instead. "Think I might wander around, try to get myself oriented."

"Good idea, just don't get lost," she replied with a smirk.

"I should be alright," he said, and poked his temple. "My sense of direction is pretty good."

"Then I'll see you after lunch," Miki said with a nod. "Have fun!"

"You too," said Maru. "Have some tasty noms!"

"Er, I'll do that," she replied with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. "Bye!"

She left the room, leaving him to his thoughts.

"Well," he said to himself as the last few people left the room, "suppose I really ought go, then." He ventured forth into the lunchtime crowds, and fought down an urge to just go back into the classroom.

* * *

Okay, so I should probably note that some of these chapters have overlap. Trying to tell a story from two different perspectives, and all that.

I want to thank Narutoexd and Mister Vault 101 for reviewing, by the way! Thank you so much!


	4. Best (And Only) Foot Forward

Maru wandered into the passing crowd aimlessly, going against the flow of traffic. The next-door classroom marked 3-2 appeared empty, and he ducked inside. He winced as he realized he was not, in fact, alone.

With him in the room was a blond girl. Her fingers traced down a sheet of paper as her eyebrows came together in concentration. As he watched, her head rose, and turned in his direction. Her eyes were closed. _Blind?_

"Ah, excuse me," he said. "Didn't realize anyone was still in here." He looked closer at her, and realized she was very tall. Almost as tall, if not taller than he was, and his height was slightly above the average. Between that and the blond hair, he realized she probably had a western parent. Her features however, were Japanese. _Probably mixed breed, then. Know that feel._

"Oh, hello there," said the girl. "May I help you?"

"Ah, probably not," he admitted as he took a step back to try to find another room. "Just sort of looking for refuge from the lunchtime hustle. Sorry to disturb you."

"It's quite alright," she replied. "I was just trying to finish this before I go to lunch myself."

"Ah..." He gave into his better nature and strode toward her. "Something I can help with?"

"I'm about done," she admitted with a smile. "But thank you for offering."

"Hey, not a problem," he replied.

"I take it you're a new student to Yamaku?" She removed her finger from the article in front of her.

"Hole in one," he admitted. "Maru's the name."

"I'm Lilly Satou," she said with a smile and a restrained bow. "Pleased to meet you, Maru."

"Likewise, I assure you," he replied as he nodded his head in return before pondering the futility of the action. He shrugged it off. "Heh, it's actually Maru Kobayashi. Don't usually use the last name, though."

"Then I shall continue to call you Maru," she replied as her smile widened, "if you will call me Lilly in return. There's no need to be too formal"

"That's quite alright by me," he admitted as he took a seat. He scratched his chin. "Say, are you from around here? That is, if you don't mind my asking," he added as an afterthought.

"My my, is it the hair?" Lilly asked with amusement.

"As a matter of fact...," Maru admitted with a chuckle.

She giggled. "As a matter of fact," she repeated, "I was born in Scotland."

"Well, that answers that," he replied. "You don't have much of an accent, though."

"I have lived here for most of my life," she replied. "On the subject of accents, yours is most unusual, if you don't mind that observation."

He gave a barking laugh, which made her wince. "Ah, sorry."

She waved her hand at his apology. "It's alright, I was merely surprised at the volume." She frowned. "Though I feel I should be used to it by now."

"Eh, even so." He thought about asking about the second part, but shrugged it off. "I can be a bit loud sometimes, I'll try to avoid it in the future." He scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, the accent... You know, I don't actually know how it came about, honestly. All I do know is that it tends to follow other accents into alleys and mug them for phonetics."

"My my, such unusual phrasing," she said with an amused smile. "Should I be worried?"

"Naw, you'll be fine." He grinned. "After all, you don't have an accent!"

"That's reassuring..." She frowned. "I think."

"Ahh, don't mind me, I'm harmless," he said and shook his head. "Though I will admit that I enjoy playing with people's heads sometimes." He cleared his throat. "Uh, anyway, what was that about my accent?"

"It's most curious," Lilly admitted. "In ways, it reminds me of that of a native English speaker, or at least someone from a western country. It's quite hard to place; it has traces of Russian, German, some American," she smiled, "and even a rather familiar Scottish tinge."

"Well," Maru replied in English, "my English _is_ pretty good, if I do say so myself."

"Indeed it is," she replied, also in English. "So I return your question to you: Where are you from?"

"I am from a little town near Osaka, actually," he replied, this time in Japanese. "My English is... well, I can't properly explain it. It's a very long story."

"Maybe you can tell me another time then?" She frowned and put the sheet of paper she had been working with in her bag. "Unfortunately, I am expected, and I'm already running a bit late." She stood up, and retrieved a collapsible cane from under the table where she had been working.

"Ah, then I won't keep you," he said. A thought occurred to him. "Oh, one thing though! I don't suppose you know where the library is, do you?"

Lilly smiled. "As a matter of fact, I will be going right by it. Shall I show you where it is?"

"Now that's convenience," Maru replied with a smile of his own as he shrugged off his previous plan to get some lone time. "Please do. I leave myself in your capable care."

She nodded as her smile widened. "Then follow me, please."

Maru did as instructed, as she led him down a flight of stairs. He had to slow his pace down to match hers, and watched with interest as she descended the stairs. He took the other side of the stairwell, which was perhaps fortunate as in his inattentiveness, he stepped poorly on his prosthetic and tripped down the remaining three steps of the flight. He sighed, thankful at least that the crowds had already dispersed.

"Are you alright?" Lilly asked. "It sounded like you fell."

"Oh, just fine," he replied as he pulled himself up. "Never better. Just reminded that my prosthetic is cheap." _Yeah, that's the ticket, blame the prosthetic for your own clumsiness. Though it really _is_ cheap..._

"That would be why you are here at Yamaku then?" she replied.

"Just so," he confirmed. "I tell you, this place is expensive. Really costs an arm and a leg!"

She smiled at the joke. "It's good to see that your condition has not affected your sense of humor."

"Not hardly," he replied with a chuckle. "If anything, it's given me ample opportunity to make puns."

"Even so, not everyone adjusts readily to such a condition," she replied as she continued down the stairs.

"Doubtlessly," he admitted as he followed, a bit more carefully this time around. "But I think it helps to be philosophical about such things. Sure, not having my hand anymore is a bloody pain, but it could be worse."

She walked through an open set of double doors at the base of the stairwell, and he followed.

"I'm quite right-dominant anyway," he continued, "and it's my left hand. And really, the foot loss doesn't really affect things much either. Well, except for the limping, but I can always blame that on the prosthetic."

"It is good to see that you have taken things in stride, then," she said.

"Hey, it always helps to put my best foot forward." He grinned. "Or, you know. My only foot."

She giggled before coming to a stop in front of a double door. "This is the library, by the way."

"Ah, thank you kindly," Maru replied as he took note of the room number. He thought of going inside, but he decided to just head back to the classroom and eat his lunch. At least he knew where it was now. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Take care!"

"You too, Maru," she replied before walking down the hall.

He nodded to himself, and retraced the path to 3-3.

* * *

Before anyone calls shenanigans on the accent, well... listen to this:

cinco .ly / !AguC8cKcKIth

Due to the unfortunate way FFN handles links, you'll have to remove spaces to use that. Anyway, as Maru's based considerably on myself, well... yeah.

I'd like to thank Alpha Centori, FrostEmma, and Narutoexd for reviewing me. Thank you guys so much!


	5. In The Nursery

Hisao followed Misha and Shizune to the cafeteria.

_Just like everything in this school, the cafeteria seems too spacious and oddly modern in contrast to the classic exterior,_ Hisao thought.

"It's the cafeteria~!" Misha enthused, uncaring of the stares she drew with her obvious statement as the trio proceeded to the line.

Hisao considered the menu options, which seemed great at first until he realized that many of them were to accommodate students who need special diets. _How nice,_ he thought. _It almost feels like I'm back at the hospital, eating portions measured with scientific precision to meet the needs of the patients._ He picked something at random and followed Shizune to a table, and sat down opposite of her.

Misha poked him in the side as he nibbled indifferently at his food, and pointed to Shizune.

Shizune signed at him with a frown.

The point escaped Hisao, who didn't know sign language. _Maybe looking at a person who "talks" to you is proper and polite?_ he wondered.

Misha spoke. "Do you want to know something?"

Hisao was caught off guard. "What?"

"About anything!" Misha grinned. "We're your guides so you should ask if there is something~!"

"Hmm, I wonder...," he paused. "Oh, yeah. Is there a library in the school? Lately I've gotten into reading a lot so I'd like to check it out."

Misha gave the kind of frown that made it clear she didn't consider reading a healthy hobby, but then picked up her smile again. "There is~! It's in the second floor, we can show you sometime!"

"Thanks." He returned to his food while the girls talked between themselves.

Misha and Shizune signed back and forth very animatedly, and threw sideways glances at Hisao. Misha refrained from translating, however.

_Maybe they are talking about secret girl stuff or something, _he reflected as he continued to pick indifferently at food he didn't want. A conversation in sign wasn't enough to fill a silence, he quickly noticed.

They finished eating and returned to the classroom, but weren't the first.

Maru was sitting at his desk, tapping lightly on a small lunch box. His head snapped up as the trio entered.

Hisao thought he saw a surprised glare on Maru's face for a moment, but it passed in a flash.

"Yo," greeted Maru with a genial wave.

"Macchan, hi hi~!" Misha greeted.

"Macchan?" Maru tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

Hisao shrugged at him.

Misha grinned. "It fits!"

Maru thought about this for a moment, and then shrugged. "Whatever works," he replied. _At least it wasn't a pun about Star Trek or that silly cat._ He leaned back in his seat and yawned. _Side note, need more caffeine. Next time, get some coffee to go with lunch_.

Misha frowned for a moment at Maru's lack of talkativeness.

Shizune signed something.

Misha stepped in front of Maru's desk. "Is something wrong, Macchan~?"

Maru blinked at Misha, then let out a wide yawn, not bothering to cover it. "I require more vespene gas," he said. "Or at least some caffeine."

"Wahahaha~, you should have got some coffee in the cafeteria," Misha said.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Maru said. _Nothing against you, but please stop talking. Let me beeeee...!_

Shizune poked Misha on the shoulder, and began signing when she turned to her.

"Ahahaha~, right!" Misha nodded and grinned. "Shicchan says not to fall asleep in class~!"

"I'll do my best," Maru replied.

"Alright~!" Misha nodded. "See you later then, Macchan!"

"Mmm," replied Maru.

Misha frowned for a moment, then returned to smiling as she followed Shizune to their seats and began to converse with her in sign.

Hisao sat down with a sigh. Getting into the rhythm of school felt strange. It was as if his brain remembered how it was done, but his body didn't.

Miki sat down in front of Maru. "Did you get oriented?" She grinned at him.

"More or less," Maru replied. "I have a better idea of the place than I did before."

"That's good," she replied with a thumbs up.

"Just so," Maru replied with a yawn, and then looked up at the door. "Ah, incoming teacher."

Miki looked forward and frowned. "Oh well, I was hoping to chat a little, guess it'll have to wait now."

"Eh, it's probably just as well," he admitted. "After scaring Hanako away, I'm just not feeling very talkative."

"It's not your fault," she replied.

"Even so," he stated. "Try me later, eh?"

"Hey, sure thing," she said, and turned her attention to the teacher.

Maru took a moment to subtly stab himself in the leg with his pencil. _Ow, okay, awake-ish now._

Toward the end of class, Hisao started to yawn and count the minutes left. _I shouldn't be this tired on my first day of school,_ he thought. _Maybe it's the long time spent in the hospital that made me like this. I'm even feeling physically weak and lifeless._

Before long, the final bell rang, signifying an end to the school day.

"Well, I'm outta here," Miki said to Maru. "Have a good one, alright?"

"Heh, you too," he replied. "Later!"

She waved, and joined the students leaving the classroom. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

Misha and Shizune began to converse beside Hisao. After a bit of deliberation, Misha turned to him.

"Unfortunately we can't stay and show you around today, Hicchan," Misha admitted with a frown. "We've got to hurry already, since there's a lot of work for us to do."

Shizune signed something.

"You'll find your way around here," Misha translated. "I'm sure of it."

"Ah, wait!" Hisao balked. "The teacher said I'd have to see the nurse. Where do I have to go?"

"Make that for both of us," Maru said as he stood up from his chair, thumb pressed firmly down on his pencil's point.

"Is that so?" Misha grinned. "We can at least show you that much~!"

"Sweet," Maru said as he walked over to them.

"Come on," she continued, "the nurses have their own building, so we have to go outside."

The four of them joined the flow of students making their way down the stairwell and outside, with the girls pointing out the other senior classrooms in the same hallways as theirs.

Maru didn't pay much attention. Trying to memorize that many locations like that would inevitably end in failure anyway.

The girls led them outside, and then to a smaller building right next to the school. It was built in the same style, so it looked like it was actually a part of the main building.

Shizune signed something with a smile.

"This is the auxiliary building right here," Misha translated. "There's a lot of official and important stuff inside, like the Yamaku Foundation office and all the nurses' offices. They even have a swimming pool!"

Maru nodded.

"How is that official?" Hisao asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

Shizune frowned and signed something.

"Don't be silly, Hicchan!" Misha translated. "It's for physical therapy of course." She raised her finger as though to make a point. "Anyway, all the nursing staff facilities are in there too. The head nurse's office is on the first floor." She put her hands on her hips. "You'll be fine from here, right~? We'll be going then! See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, thanks," Hisao responded. "Bye."

Maru nodded his thanks as well.

_A whole building for stuff that has nothing to do with actual education?_ wondered Hisao. _I guess it's necessary for a place like this._

_Wonder if this place has a proper gym, _thought Maru as he stuffed his pencil in his pocket.

They walked inside.

_I hope this really will be a quick visit like the teacher said,_ thought Hisao.

"Hm. Head nurse," Maru said, as he pointed to a white door on the left. Sure enough, the text "Head Nurse" is written in white on a green cross, with a nameplate below it.

Hisao grunted and knocked on the door.

A voice from inside responded almost immediately, but was too muffled for either of them to make out.

Maru glanced at Hisao with a shrug, and let himself in.

Hisao followed.

Maru sniffed. _Smells like hospital in here._

A friendly-looking man turned around on his office chair to face the two of them. His desk was neat and tidy, but the bin under the table was overflowing with used medical utensils, and there were at least a dozen coffee-cup rings lingering on the desk.

"Hello there," said the man. "What can I do for you two today?"

"Mutou said you wanted us to check-in," Maru replied.

"Erm, you are the nurse, right?" Hisao asked.

The man smiled like a person who has heard that very same question hundreds of times.

"That's what it says on the door, no?" said the nurse to Hisao. "You two can call me by name or just 'the nurse' like everyone else." He extended his hand to the two.

Maru shook it. "Nice to meet you, uh, the nurse."

The nurse's eyes light up with amusement. "You must be Kobayashi then," said the nurse with a grin. "I've been warned about you."

"Nothing bad, I hope?" Maru returned with his own grin.

"Just that I should keep some earplugs handy," said the nurse with a wink as he offered his hand to Hisao.

Maru laughed. "It's not my fault I was blessed with this UNHOLY! ACTING! TALENT!" He raised his hand to the heavens before clenching his fist to his chest.

The nurse grinned wider.

Hisao shook his head, and then coughed to interrupt. "Er, anyway, I'm the other new student and my homeroom teacher told me to come and meet you. My name is Hisao Nakai."

The nurse snapped his fingers. "Oh, you're THAT Nakai. I'd better start with you, then." He looked at Maru. "Can you wait outside a minute?"

"Oh, sure," Maru said. "Confidentiality, right?"

"Bingo," said the nurse.

"Right," Maru said, and walked outside, leaving Hisao and the nurse to talk privately.

"Now then," said the nurse. "I was just reading your file in the morning. Some kind of chronic arrhythmia and related congenital heart muscle deficiency, right?" He gestured for Hisao to sit down in a vacant armchair in front of his desk.

"Eh, yes," admitted Hisao.

"Good," said the nurse. "Well, you've probably been briefed about the school enough, so I'll just go over this quickly. We have all kinds of facilities available, mostly physical therapy and such. There's always someone from my staff around, even at night, so never hesitate to call us if there is a problem."

_The famous twenty-four-hour nursing staff,_ thought Hisao bitterly. "Wow, this is like a hospital."

"Well, not exactly," said the nurse. "For instance, we don't do brain surgery here." His grin widened slightly.

"Yeah...," Hisao said, trying to get around the out-of-place joke, "just that it's really weird to have so many medical people at a school."

"You'll get used to it," replied the nurse.

Hisao reflected he wasn't so sure, but didn't say anything.

"Now, let me just find your file again...," said the nurse as he shuffled stacks of paper around and searched for something on his computer.

Hisao let his gaze wander around the room. _It's the epitome of generic, _he thought. Beige walls and ceiling, dark gray laminate flooring, and all the equipment you'd expect from a school nurse's office. _Even the ridiculous educational posters are hanging on all four walls, reminding me to eat properly - three times a day and from all food groups._

With a smile, the nurse drew a thick file from a stack of similarly thick files and opened it. "So, you already have medication for the arrhythmia, just remember to take your pills every morning and evening or it won't be much help." The nurse winked at Hisao. "Apart from that... do you do any sports? Rash stuff like... I don't know, boxing?" He grinned at his own joke.

"Eh, well," Hisao said, without a grin. "I played soccer occasionally with some classmates."

"Alright," said the nurse. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend you refrain from doing that. At least, for the time being."

"Oh." Hisao shrugged.

The nurse raised an eyebrow at the lack of reaction.

_Really, I'm not too bothered by him forbidding me to kick a ball around,_ Hisao thought. _I guess I never did it out of burning passion for the sport. Just to have something to do._

"Any kind of concussion might be very dangerous to your heart and risking another attack is not a good idea," said the nurse. "Was the previous one caused by a sudden concussion to the chest area? There is no mention of the cause in your papers."

"Err... not exactly." Hisao sidestepped the question.

The nurse glanced at him over his papers, with a more serious expression on his face. "Still, you need to keep your body health so some exercise would do you good. We have physical therapy and such available as I said, but I don't think you really need such heavy measures. Just get some light exercise regularly. Brisk walks or even light jogging, jumping rope, that sort of thing. Swimming, maybe? There's a pool here."

"So I was told," observed Hisao.

The nurse smiled at this. "You were? Very good. At any rate, and I'm sure you've been told this before, you just need to take care not to overexert yourself." He wagged his finger to emphasize the point.

_No need really, _Hisao thought, _I've heard this a thousand times already._

The nurse frowned. "Absolutely no unnecessary risks. Take care of yourself."

"Okay," replied Hisao.

The nurse went over his papers one more time and sat them on his desk, obviously content. "Good," he said with a smile. "That's it, then. Come meet me if you ever need something."

The nurse ushered Hisao out, and called Maru in.

_A quick visit indeed,_ thought Hisao.

* * *

I'd just like to thank Mister Vault 101 for reviewing the last chapter. Glad you liked it! Keep on fighting the good fight!


	6. Army Nurse

Maru found a vending machine down the aisle from the nurse's office and purchased a can of coffee. With a satisfied grin he took a deep drink from the can. The grin quickly fell as the coffee hit his taste buds. _Aw man. That's just... a crime against taste buds everywhere._ He shuddered and chugged the thing down, trying to taste as little as possible. _Beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes._

With a sigh he tossed the empty in a handy recycling bin, purchased another can, and stood outside the nurse's office door in wait while doing a repeat performance of _Chug._

Hisao left the nurse's office just after Maru finished his act. Maru nodded to Hisao, and entered the nurse's office.

"Alright Maru," said the nurse with a grin. "I guess I don't need to double check with you." He gestured to an empty armchair.

"It's all pretty obvious, isn't it?" replied Maru with a smirk as he sat down. He looked around for a moment before putting the coffee can on the nurse's desk.

"Well, that's one way of putting it, I suppose," said the nurse with a wink. He nodded to the empty can. "Still drinking lots of caffeinated beverages?"

"Keeps me going," Maru said.

"Those probably aren't helping your insomnia," observed the nurse with a frown.

"I dunno, I've had plenty of nights of that even without touching a drop of the stuff," Maru said with a shrug. "Sleep happens. Or doesn't, as the case may be."

The nurse glanced over at the coffee stained papers on his desk. "I suppose I can't in good faith advise against drinking coffee," he said with an amused smile. "Anyway, you've probably been briefed about the school enough, so I'll just go over this quickly. We have all kinds of facilities available, mostly physical therapy and such. There's always someone from my staff around, even at night, so never hesitate to call us if there is a problem."

"Will do," replied Maru. "Say, does all of that include a gym?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," said the nurse with a smile. "Says here you made a bit of use of the hospital's gym?"

"Well, I have to keep my girlish figure," replied Maru with a grin.

The nurse returned the grin. "Good to hear it. Now, you don't strictly need to keep with it, but it's always a good idea to stay fit."

"Just so," said Maru. "Keeps the brain sharp, I've found. Plus..." He flexed his arms. "I make this look good!"

The nurse winked. "Indeed you do!"

Maru chuckled for a moment, before considering further what the nurse had just said. _Did he just hit on me? Dude, sorry, don't swing that way..._

"Anyway," continued the nurse, "let me just double check your file..." He went through the files on his desk and computer.

Maru hummed a little, and looked up at the ceiling tiles.

The nurse smiled as he held up a thick file and opened it. The smile turned to a frown. "Are you still having nightmares?"

"Occasionally," admitted Maru. "I don't let it bother me, though."

The nurse smiled. "Well, that's good. The hospital still wants you to look into some sort of therapy, though."

"Eh!" Maru waved his hand dismissively. "I'll be fine without."

"That may well be," said the nurse with a frown. "However, you _have_ demonstrated a few of the warning signs for post-traumatic stress disorder. There may not enough for a diagnosis, but there is enough to be worrying. And considering that you lost both your mother and father in the accident, as well as your arm and leg, specifically the arm, it wouldn't be any surprise if you did end up with some form of psychological damage. Most people would."

Maru sighed. "Look, I'm fine, alright? I mean yes, I get the nightmares, but they're infrequent." He snorted. "I know what signs you're talking about too, and let me assure you; I had those before the accident too. They're unrelated." _Hell, had them before... _He clamped down on that line of thought._  
_

The nurse nodded after a moment and smiled. "Alright then, I will take your word for it. But if you change your mind..."

"I'll let you know, yes," replied Maru with a nod.

"Good." The nurse smiled. "Now, let's check your limbs."

Maru rolled up his shirt sleeve to let the nurse examine the stump.

The nurse turned his arm this way and that, and made sure to see it from all angles. He poked and prodded it as he did so, and occasionally asked if there was any pain; to which Maru replied in the negative.

"The arm looks good," said the nurse with a smile. "Scarring aside."

"Gives me character I think," Maru replied with a smirk.

"Now," said the nurse as Maru rolled his shirt sleeve back, "how about that leg?"

"It's been just like a leg to me," Maru replied deadpan.

The nurse grinned. "That's good! But seriously, let's see the leg."

"Right, right," muttered Maru with amusement as he unstrapped the prosthetic. "Wish they'd given me a better leg. Damn cheap thing."

"I will admit, this isn't the highest quality prosthetic," the nurse said as he took a look at it. "Maybe I can do something about that," he said with a wink.

"Hey, don't put yourself out on my account," Maru said as he waved his hand. "I can make do."

"Even so, it doesn't do any good to go around with an inferior prosthetic if it brings you discomfort," said the nurse.

"It's not that it's uncomfortable or anything," said Maru. "I just feel like I'll break the damn thing sometimes. Seriously, it looks like one good kick and it'd just sort of shatter."

"Were you planning to do kickboxing?" asked the nurse with a smile.

"You never know!" Maru smirked. "But probably not. Still... Eh, never mind."

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said the nurse as he inspected Maru's leg. "So there's no discomfort?"

"No, although I did trip and fall down the stairs earlier," Maru said with a shrug. "I don't think that's the prosthetic though."

"Did you get hurt?" asked the nurse with a frown.

"Well, my pride got bruised, but I think I'm fine otherwise," Maru replied wryly. "Only went down three steps."

"Well try not to do it again," said the nurse with a smile. "Stairs are expensive if you break them." He grinned.

Maru snorted. "Well, you can just call me the Stair Master, in that event."

The nurse laughed. "And here I was beginning to wonder if my jokes were getting stale." He shook his head. "Now then. I noticed you have a missing tooth? It's not mentioned in this report."

"And a chipped tooth," Maru replied before opening his mouth to show the nurse closer. "Ighs nah re-ay-egh oo-"

"Close your mouth and try that again," said the nurse with a wink.

"I said, it's not related to the accident," replied Maru as he began to strap his leg back on. "Had those before. Fisticuffs."

"Ahh, so you got into some fights then?" asked the nurse with a frown.

Maru sighed. "On occasion, yes. As you may have noticed, I'm not exactly your run-of-the-mill sort of person. Kind of got singled out now and then." He snorted. "Of course, I also usually gave worse than I got too, so it's not all bad. I mean, you should have seen the other guys!"

"Just don't get into any fights here," said the nurse with a smile. "You may be sturdy, but not everyone here is."

"Hey, I didn't plan to get in those fights either, they just sort of happened," Maru replied as he held his hand and stump up defensively. "I'll try, but if someone comes after me..."

"That shouldn't be a problem," said the nurse. "You may have already noticed that this is a more friendly community than others."

"I have to admit I haven't had the chance," said Maru with a shrug. "But I'll take your word for it."

"Good," replied the nurse. "Now then, says here you have some scarring on your torso?"

Maru rolled his eyes and sighed. "Just a few here and there," he replied as he took off his shirt. "There's the two on my left," he pointed to a twin set of scars just at the bottom of his ribcage on his side, "and the one on my shoulder," he jabbed his thumb at his right shoulder.

The nurse examined these in turn. "Hmm, and I suppose you're not going to tell me how you got them, either?"

"Tragic accident at Sea World," Maru replied, deadpan. "Simply tragic." He sniffed and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "They still haven't found the narwhal, you know."

The nurse grinned. "Well I'm not going to ask, just as long as it wasn't child abuse or something like that."

"Naw, nothing like that," Maru said. "But I'd prefer to keep it under my hat, all the same." _And damn the hospital for finding them, for that matter. I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling doctors!_

"Hmm..." The nurse frowned for a moment, then shrugged and smiled. "Well, that's all I have for you, in that case. Do you have any questions before I kick you out?"

"I do actually," said Maru as he put his shirt back on. "Now, you said there's a gym. I'd like to go there and lift weights and the like, but, well..." He motioned at his stump. "They didn't give me a hand. And that's considering all the things I might have done for them! Hell, I'd deserve a standing ovation!" He coughed. "But yes. I can't really lift weights on this arm without a hand."

The nurse grinned. "Well fortunately for you, there are a number of spare prosthetics in the gym you can use for that. They're adjustable even, so you should be able to use one of them properly. Just don't take it with you."

"Ah, just like at the hospital," said Maru with a nod and a grin. "Most excellent, then."

"Anything else?"

Maru looked up in contemplation as he stroked his chin. "I don't think so, no."

The nurse went over his papers one more time and sat them on his desk. "Good," he said with a smile. "That's it, then. Come meet me if you ever need something."

"Will do," replied Maru as he stood up and grabbed the empty coffee can. "Thanks for your time."

"Anytime, anytime," said the nurse with a grin. "Take care of yourself now."

"Sure thing," said Maru as he went through the door.

* * *

Hmm... No reviews on chapter 5. I have to admit, that makes me a little sad. But it's okay, because this story's still doing much better than I had anticipated.

Anyway, the adjustable prosthetic thing. I don't actually know if that's a thing or not. Did some research on hand prosthetics, came back largely empty-handed, made an educated guess. If anyone knows better and is willing to correct me on that, drop me a line!

Now then, there's a chance the next chapter will be late. Lots of tests this week. Tests, tests, more tests, and maybe some testificates if I'm lucky. So, fair warning there.


	7. Nobody's Room With A View

Hisao stood in front of the main building and auxiliary building, and realized they still looked the same to his eyes. He let his eyes drift to the people that came out of the school and went to the gate or the dorms, and got his first real look at the other students.

_Everyone seems to know where they are going,_ he reflected as he people-watched. He still kept thinking that most of them didn't look too special for being students at a special school. _Then again, neither do I. Does that make me one of them? One of us?_ He shook his head. _I should go somewhere too, to prevent me from getting lost._

His thoughts were interrupted as Maru stepped out of the auxiliary building and, after a look around, walked up to Hisao.

"Hey, man," Maru said with a smirk. "How'd it go?"

"The nurse visit?" Hisao asked.

"Just so," Maru replied.

"...About as I expected," Hisao said and frowned. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Ah, sure thing," Maru said with a shrug. "Your business, and all that. Hey, which way's the dorm?"

"That way I think," Hisao said, and pointed to the buildings a line of students was heading to, which were set a little way apart from the main building complex.

"Ah, right," Maru said with a nod. "Well, I need to go get settled in. I'll see you later, eh?"

"Sure," Hisao replied with a shrug.

Maru walked off to the dorms, and whistled Scotland the Brave as he moved.

Hisao watched after him a moment, before he returned to his contemplation. It was around dinnertime, but he felt tired instead of hungry. He decided to follow Maru to the dorms, and his weariness only grew as he trudged forward.

There was a garden of sorts between the school and the dorms, with shrubbery, flowers, and the smell of fresh cut grass.

Maru breathed deeply of the atmosphere as he traversed the park-like piece of land. _Man, this is a really nice place, actually. You just don't see this sort of thing at a high school normally._

Hisao found the cut grass smell to be overbearing. It dawned on his tired mind that the smell felt novel because he hadn't been outside at all for so long.

Maru paused at the entrance to the dorms, and took in their red brick facades. It occurred on him he had no idea which dorm he was supposed to go into, so he looked at the crowds in an effort to determine his destination. He realized with a frown that, although there seemed to be gender preferences, there were enough people of opposing sexes going into both dorms to make his task somewhat confusing.

Careful determination and one coin flip later, and he headed into the dorm on the left.

Hisao stopped in front of the dorms. It felt way too pompous to him for what it was, like the others, and so he pushed forward, going inside the right dorm.

A few moments afterward, Maru stumbled out of the left dorm with a frown. "Right," he muttered to himself. "Other one, then." He walked in.

Despite the ornate exterior, the inside of the dorm was fairly new, functional, and in Hisao's opinion, boring.

"Oh, hey Hisao," Maru said as he entered and saw the boy in question.

"Huh?" Hisao turned around and blinked. "...Didn't you leave before me?"

"I chose poorly," Maru admitted with a shrug.

Hisao raised an eyebrow. "...Didn't you notice the signs?"

Maru blinked and looked around, and noticed for the first time the 'Male Dorm' sign, inverted on the front doors. "...See, that would have been the smart way of doing things. Can't have that."

Hisao shook his head.

Maru coughed. "Anyway... Hm. Nice place. So which room's yours?"

"Room one-one-nine," Hisao replied.

"Room one-one-eight here," Maru said, and then grinned. "Guess that makes us neighbors!"

"Lucky me," Hisao replied, voice drier than the Sahara as he walked toward the stairwell.

"Now now, I'll have you know that I'm a quiet neighbor for the most part," Maru replied with a chuckle as he followed. "And I'm only a little crazy. No cardboard cutouts of William Shatner or anything!"

Hisao didn't reply to that as he poked his head around the corner of the common room door.

A few students inside were watching the television, and one nodded at him, gave a quick "hello", and turned back to the TV.

_Seems that only the girls around here are sociable_, Hisao reflected. _Well, with one kind of annoying exception._

Maru nodded and waved at the inhabitants of the common room as he walked past. _I'm glad Hisao knows where he's going,_ he thought. _Makes one of us, at least._

The two of them ascended the stairs without word, and reached a series of small corridors that branched off from the main hallway. Each of the minor halls had a toilet and a shower, as well as four rooms.

About halfway down the hall, Hisao spotted room 119. He walked forward, followed at a measured distance by Maru. Hisao looked at the name plates on the rooms adjacent to his, and noted that the room next to his had the name "Kobayashi Maru" on it with a wince.

Maru noticed the same, and winced as well, if for different reasons. "I'm totally going to put something over that," he remarked. "Maru's fun house? No, that would sound weird. The dungeon of Maru? ...Terrible. Maru was here? Hmm..." He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

Hisao looked at the door directly adjacent from his own, room 117, and noticed that light shone from below it. He knocked lightly on the door. "Hello, is anyone home?" he asked.

Maru looked over curiously. He wasn't nearly as sociable as he let on, and seeing someone who actually was that lived next door to him was a matter of interest.

The sound of movement came from within room 117, followed by the clicking of way more locks than either Hisao or Maru thought the doors had. Maru raised an eyebrow. After a moment, the door squeaked open.

A bespectacled boy was standing in the doorway. He looked at Hisao very intently through extremely thick eyeglasses. "Who is it?" asked the boy.

_Blind?_ thought Hisao. _No, at least not completely, why would he have eyeglasses if he was?_

_Is that the winter suit?_ thought Maru. _And... a scarf? What. It's getting close to summertime, and... Oh, nevermind, to each their own._

The bespectacled youth leaned closer to Hisao until their noses were almost touching.

_His breath stinks of garlic,_ Hisao thought as he leaned away. "Hisao Nakai...," he said at length. "I'm moving into the next room. I thought I should introduce my..."

The bespectacled youth's face suddenly brightened in realization, and he stood back upright. He thrust his hand out in a smiling greeting, almost straight into Hisao's diaphragm.

The corner of Maru's mouth threatened to curl into an amused smile.

"Oh, 'sup dude?" said the bespectacled youth. "The name's Kenji."

"Ah, hi," Hisao said as he took Kenji's sweaty hand and shook it, still a little rattled by the sudden change of attitude and vehement welcome.

Maru coughed. "I suppose I should-"

Kenji spun rapidly, and faced Maru. "Ah! Don't sneak up on me like that! I might have used my ninja-like skills to kill you, or worse!"

"Uh," replied Maru with a blink.

"So who are you?" Kenji asked as he gave Maru the up close and personal treatment.

"I'm Maru," he replied, and tried not to gag at the smell.

"Oh, the unwinnable scenario guy?" Kenji asked with a smile. "'sup dude? The name's Kenji." He thrust his hand out to Maru, and would have speared him in the spleen if Maru hadn't twisted to the side.

Hisao couldn't help but smile at Maru's discomfort.

"Uh, hey," said Maru with a frown as he shook the proffered hand. _Great, both of my neighbors get that stupid joke. Ah, well..._

"There were some suspicious-looking people going in and out of your rooms earlier," Kenji remarked.

"It was probably my parents," Hisao said.

"Or the shipping guys in my case," said Maru.

"Your parents? You sure?" Kenji frowned. "'Cause they could've been some other people, too. It's even worse for you Maru, who knows if someone stole some uniforms to get into your room? You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Uh," replied Maru with a raised eyebrow.

Hisao awkwardly tried to think of a way to respond to Kenji's out-of-place proverb. "I'd say the chances are high enough," he said at last.

Maru decided that it was probably as good a time as any to prepare an escape route. He fished out his key and stuck it in his door lock.

Kenji shuddered and made some exaggerated hand gestures. "You're a brave man, Hisao. Me, I don't think I could trust the chances. The only one I trust is myself."

"Does that mean I shouldn't get to know you, either?" asked Hisao in a snide tone.

Kenji tilted his head back, apparently in thought.

Maru hazarded a sideways glance inside his dorm. _Well, looks like everything's here. There's the tools, my laptop, my clothes bag... There's the pegboards... Damn, did they just take all the hardware and put it into a box? Shit, that'll be murder to sort out... Ah fuck it, I'll leave it like that. Go go gadget lazy powers!_

"A wise decision," Kenji said at last with a smile. "Damn, you are smarter than you look. Probably. What do you look like? I hope not smart." He squinted his eyes and leaned closer again, but Hisao leaned backwards to dodge it.

"Not at all," said Maru with a grin.

"Says the one who looks like a muscle-bound meathead," countered Hisao with a snort.

"Ach," Maru yelped, and staggered backward slightly while holding his hand to his chest. "Ye wound me!"

"Idiot and meathead, got it," Kenji said with a knowing smile. "Later dudes." He turned around, fumbled for a moment in search of the door handle, and shut the door behind him.

"Huh," Maru said. "Well, that happened."

"Mmm," agreed Hisao. "Of course, he now thinks I look like an idiot thanks to you." _Though I'm not sure it matters, thinking about it._

"Well, you do have the hair for it," Maru said with a grin.

Hisao grimaced and patted down his ahoge. "I can't help it, it just does that."

"Hah, I'm just giving you a hard time," Maru replied with a grin. "Feel free to say something disparaging about my person if it makes you feel better." He smirked. "C'mon. Say something about the hand. Something about the leg. Hell, say something about my teeth. Free shot, c'mon."

"...Don't tempt me," Hisao said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, tempting people's my job, don't you know?" Maru winked, and then pantomimed singing into a microphone. "Please, allow me to introduce myself; I'm a man of wealth and taste!"

Hisao winced again. "You're off key."

"Oof, okay, ow," Maru said with a frown. "You can diss the arm, leg, and teeth, but the singing? That's a low blow."

"Er, I'm sorry," Hisao said after a moment. "I didn't realize it was a sore spot."

"Hah, I'm just messing with you again," Maru admitted with a grin. "Don't take me too seriously, alright?" He blinked. "Well, unless I tell you to take me seriously. But that's not too often, probably." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I'll... keep that in mind," Hisao said evenly.

"Heh, right." Maru nodded. "Ah, anyway, I might be doing some drilling. Just a word of warning."

"Drilling?" Hisao raised an eyebrow. "You mean, like with a power tool?"

Maru nodded. "Aye. I can wait for another day if that's an issue, but I want to get the pegboards up soon."

"Is that how you lost your hand?" Hisao said. "Because I want to know if you start screaming."

Maru let out a barking laugh. "Nope! I, uh, well, I got in a car crash. It killed my, uh, parents." He looked aside for a moment, and then continued. "That's why I'm here, actually. Good old ward of the state."

"Oh," Hisao replied. "Um, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Ah, it is what it is," Maru said with a shrug. "Can't be helped, may as well make the most of it."

"Huh." Hisao contemplated this for a moment. _I have to wonder if anything actually phases him. Have to admire the attitude, though._

"Anyway, so the drilling?" Maru smirked.

"Oh, yeah, it's fine," replied Hisao.

"Goodie!" Maru grinned. "Shouldn't be more than half an hour. Well, assuming I'm still as handy as I was." He smirked as he waved his handless arm for emphasis.

Hisao groaned. "I may regret asking this, but do you need me to, um... help?" _Damn, I almost said lend a hand. ... Thinking about it, I should have. He did ask for it, after all. Literally._

"Naw, probably not," Maru replied. "Really do need to make sure I still have it. Besides, I have a cunning plan." He grinned. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"Not a problem," Hisao said as he pulled his key out. It required more effort than it should have.

Maru nodded and stepped into his room.

Hisao managed to retrieve his key, and slid it into the lock.

"Oh, Hisao," came Maru's voice. "If you need any help yourself, you need but ask. You wouldn't believe it, but I'm a pretty handy guy to have around."

Hisao groaned. "You already used that pun. But thank you."

"Hah! No problem," Maru replied.

Hisao went into his room and looked around. _Bleak beige walls, white linen, a desk made of some type of light wood. Ugly curtains. _He sighed. _It's no one's room; impersonal, like my hospital room was._

His bags sat at the foot of his bed, and looked a lot emptier than they had that morning. The closet was still open, stocked with his clothes. A number of school uniforms hung there as well. He blinked as he saw a note pinned to the sleeve of one of the shirts.

"Hi Hicchan," it read. "We've unpacked your things and made your bed. They said if these don't fit then you should go to the office tomorrow. If you have any problems, you can always call us. Love, Mom and Dad."

_Well, at least I don't have to worry about unpacking,_ thought Hisao, before a humming sound from behind his wall interrupted his reflection. It took him a moment to realize it was the sound of a drill. _Huh, that's pretty quiet. Guess I don't have to worry too much about the noise, then._

He shook his head and looked back at the closet, tuning out the drilling sound easily. He kind of hoped he would have to unpack; at least then there would be something to do. _It's still too early,_ he thought as he looked around. He put the note on the desktop and laid down on the bed, feeling drained.

He realized that laying there made him want to read something, but he had nothing with him. _I wonder if the hospital conditioned me for wanting to read whenever I have nothing to do._

The restless urge kept growing until he had to stand up. _Maybe it's stress or something. _ He shook his head. _I was pretty nervous about it before coming and for the entire day too. I still am, I think._ He frowned. _Damn, I have to distract myself somehow, so I won't be this unnatural all the time. Tomorrow, I'll go borrow some books from the library._ He nodded. _Yeah, I'll do that. But for now..._

The bottles of medications neatly arranged on his night table caught Hisao's eye. He picked one up and shook it just to hear the contents rattle inside, and then read the glued-on pharmacy label.

"Hisao Nakai," he read aloud. "Two tablets daily to stay alive." _It could just as well say that, _he reflected, _for all the difference it would make. _ He shook his head. _It's kinda twisted, having your life depend on chemicals like this. I resent it a little, but what choice do I have?_

He sighed, and began his new daily ritual of taking the right number of pills from each bottle, being careful to check the correct dosages. Afterward, he laid down again, feeling hollow and uncertain. After that, he kept staring at the blank, unfamiliar ceiling for a long time.

It didn't start to look any more familiar, not even after darkness fell and long shadows drew across his room like fingers. The sheets felt slightly more comfortable, warm and next-like against the chill that passed for room temperature there. Distantly, he realized that the sound of drilling had stopped long ago.

The lighter shade of darkness that was the ceiling soon looked like every ceiling did at night, and it became the only thing he recognized anymore. The night beckoned him to sleep, and he felt the coldness of unfamiliarity and fear creeping up his spine once again. _I keep drifting further away from the world I knew,_ he thought tiredly as his eyes closed for the night.

* * *

Hey, so I'm back! Hopefully will be a bit calmer herein, we'll see. I'll probably update again next Tuesday. It's a convenient day for it, for reasons.

I'd just like to take the time to thank Alpha Centori and LeadAcid for reviewing! LeadAcid, I hope the journey does not disappoint! Alpha Centori, you now have a review for your chapter 5. ;)


	8. Chance Encounters

While Hisao reflected on the radical changes that had befallen his life, Maru was having a field day. After he realized he could hold the pegboard up just as well with his elbow and what remained of his forearm, he was soon measuring and marking where the screws should go. Finally, he drilled a single, large hole. Into this he inserted a drywall anchor.

He realized he hadn't told Hisao anything about hammering, so instead he used his palm, and then his elbow to push the anchor all the way in. He nodded as he inspected it, happy that it was flush with the wall. He promptly began to put the pegboards themselves up, and again used the remained of his arm to hold the pegboard up as he started a screw with his fingers.

He drilled a pilot hole once he had properly aligned the pegboard, inserted another anchor after tilting the pegboard out of the way, and then temporarily inserted a screw. More pilot holes were drilled, and more anchors inserted. He finally screwed the pegboard into place after a quick bit change. He repeated the process for each piece of pegboard he put up, and soon he had covered most of a wall with pegboard.

He looked at his palm and frowned at the bruise that was beginning to grow from where he had pressed in the anchors. He rubbed his elbow with his stump, and frowned at the soreness. _Damn, really should have mentioned the hammering. Ah, well. Get the feeling he didn't want to be disturbed further anyway._

He shrugged. _Well, now what? What time is it... Quarter 'till six, alright. Guess I'll hit up the library real quick, and then go see what's in town. Want to start on that little project, need to get some wood at the least._ He nodded to himself.

Maru walked to the main building, and then retraced his steps to where Lilly had shown him the library was. He entered and blinked, surprised that it was so big. "Huh." He shrugged, and made his way forward. He skimmed titles as he slowly walked past rows of books, mostly ignoring them until he started to find some science fiction.

_Huh, I haven't read the _Worldwar_ series in a while, I ought to see if they have a copy,_ he reflected as he skimmed the shelves thoughtfully. _Oh hey, _Foundation_ series, can always check that out if I can't find i- Oh hey, _In The Balance_. There we go._ He pulled the book from the shelf and looked around. _Pretty quiet here, actually. Wonder if there's a place to sit back and read._

That thought in mind, he once again began to stalk the aisles. He briefly considered sitting at one of the desks near the back of the library, but decided against it; he always read better in a reclined position. He continued to the very back of the library, and noted with delight that there were a number of beanbags present, one being occupied. Even though there was another person there, they looked like they were quietly reading, and would probably leave him in peace.

He looked more closely at the other person. _Oh hey, it's Hanako,_ he thought. Her face was practically buried in her book, and he shrugged. _I guess I should go apologize now,_ he thought while he scratched his head with the book. _Hope this doesn't get too awkward..._ He approached her quietly as he could.

The effort was futile. Hanako jumped in surprise, and looked at him wide-eyed from underneath her fringe.

"Ah, sorry," he said with a wince. "Didn't mean to startle you. Er. Both this time and in class." _Well, this is off to a fine start._

"It... it's okay," she said.

"Even so..." He shook his head. "Ah, mind if I sit down?" He gestured to one of the beanbags near her.

After a few tense seconds, she gave a slight nod. "O-okay," she said, barely audible even in the quiet of the library.

"Um, thanks," Maru said. He realized she probably didn't actually want the company, but having already asked, he couldn't very well pull back. He sat down gently.

Hanako did her best to hide herself behind her book.

"So, uh...," he ventured in an effort to dispel the awkwardness of the situation, "what're you reading?"

She gently tipped the book backwards so he could read the title while still hiding behind it.

"Life of Pi?" He scratched his head. "Where have I heard of that before? Hm. What's it about?"

"A boy... and a tiger...," she shuffled nervously, "...on a boat..."

"This isn't Calvin and Hobbes adrift, is it?" He smiled, amused at the thought.

"N-no," she replied, her eyes darting nervously. "I-I don't... think so. I only j-just started it."

"Oh," he said. "Huh, well, if it's any good, let me know? I've been meaning to broaden my reading horizons. May have to check it out after you're done with it." He smiled at her for a moment, and then realized she was shivering. He frowned. "Um... Are you cold?"

She stood up forcefully from the beanbag and took a deep breath. "I... I..."

He blinked. "...Uh?" _Wait, shit, this seems famili-_

"...Ivegottogodosomething!" Hanako made a mad dash to the front of the library.

"...Shit." Maru groaned and slammed his book into his forehead. _Well, that's just fucking great. Tried to apologize and make some small talk, and just made her run away again. Damn it all!_ He ground his teeth and frowned. _Well, the atmosphere's pretty bad here now... Dammit._ He stood up and walked to the front of the library himself.

When he reached the counter, he saw Lilly and a woman with red hair and glasses talking.

"Oh, hey Lilly," he said tiredly.

Lilly opened her eyes slightly in surprise. "Maru?"

"The one and only," he replied. "Admittedly somewhat ashamed of that fact right now."

"Ahh, did you need to check out a book? Or return one?" said the red haired woman.

"Ah, well, I do need to check this out I think," he admitted as he handed her his book.

"If you don't mind my asking," Lilly began, "why are you ashamed of being yourself?"

"Well, for the second time today," he began, "I managed to scare off Hanako." He blinked. "Er, classmate of mine, sorry. Feeling like a complete heel right now because of it."

"Oh dear," Lilly said with a frown. "Yuuko, would you excuse me, I had better try and find her."

"S-sure," said Yuuko. "I'll be here when you get back."

Maru blinked again. "You know her?"

"I do," replied Lilly. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to explain it to you some other time."

"That's fine," he replied earnestly. "Sorry, don't mean to keep you."

Lilly hastily grabbed her cane and hurried out of the library.

"Damnation," Maru said as he leaned against the counter. "I'm not doing too well today, am I?"

"What did you do?" Yuuko asked.

"Well, I saw Hanako, went to apologize for scaring her in class... Ah, I had asked if she wanted to join my work group, offered to shake hands, and she fled... Um, but yeah, went to apologize, asked her a few questions about what she was reading, saw that she was shivering, asked her if she was cold, and..." He shrugged. "Well, here we are."

"Well, she is a very timid girl," she observed with a small frown. "You have to be very careful around her. She can be very jumpy, I think, and she's not accustomed to talking with other people."

"I noticed," Maru replied wryly and then sighed. "You're not the only one saying I should be careful around her. Guess I should have listened more closely."

"W-well, maybe now it'll stick?" she said kindly as she scanned his book. Then she covered her mouth with wide eyes. "I didn't mean for that to come out sounding so harshly..."

"No, you're right," he replied with a bitter chuckle. "I should probably have just apologized and went on my way. Still, I dunno..." He scratched the back of his head. "Ah, I guess I'll just have to deal with it as it comes. It just doesn't bode well; I lost all my tact a long time ago."

"You can always regain it," she said with a nod and a smile. "Maybe this will be motivation to do so?"

"Heh! I suppose," Maru replied as he picked up the book. "Ah, thanks for the advice, anyway. See you around, eh?"

"Take care," Yuuko said with a shy wave.

He nodded and made his way out of the library, dropped his book off at his dorm room, grabbed some money, and set out to the bus stop.

* * *

Both Alpha Centori and jtlhowell have made the very valid observation that the bits with Hisao, being as they are so close to (read, pulled directly from) canon, are kind of tiresome. Which is a very fair thing to say, but also a bit unavoidable given the format of my story. I should note that I pointed this out in the author's note for the first chapter though, so while I do apologize, I also did warn of this. It'll get better as the story progresses. Either way, if it's an issue, feel free to skim if you want. There _are _points of divergence even this early though, just as a note.

Anyway, the next chapter will be interesting, I think. It's also a bit more serious than the chapters have been up until now, and I think skirts the line between T and M; I think it falls on the T side of things, but if anyone has a different opinion, feel free to share that when you read it. It's a necessary part of the story either way. Gotta have character development, after all.


	9. Dreaming Of A Himalayan Blunder

As Maru walked through the city, he contemplated his second encounter with Hanako.

_"Timid," said the librarian. I don't think I've ever met anyone so timid,_ he thought. _Though that might have something to do with me not being much better sometimes... Did learn to fake it after a while, though. Never was sent running away like that, however._

He noticed an older woman staring at him, or rather his leg, and raised an eyebrow at her. Her eyes widened before she ducked her head down and walked hastily in the other direction. He stared after her retreating form for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Huh." He continued his introspection. _So the question becomes, what would make someone that timid?_ He stroked his chin for a moment. "Hm." _I guess it could be the scars, couldn't it? People can be rather unaccepting of those who are different... Damn pity, really. Those scars mark her as a survivor; she should be able to wear them with pride, not be ashamed._

He snorted. _I guess, depending on how early she got them, that could be an issue too. Kids are the fuckin' worst. Even if you're just the least bit different. How much worse would it be for someone with such a visible difference?_ He shook his head. _And of course, some people never fucking grow up..._

Maru stopped at a crossroads, and took note of his surroundings. He committed the street names to memory, and continued in what seemed like a likely direction.

_On that note, what got her in a place like Yamaku in the first place? She doesn't appear to have an actual disability,_ he thought. _The scars aren't exactly going to hinder her for too many things... Well. What am I saying. Of course they will, damn society's shallow like that. If I put it in that context, it makes perfect sense. How dare she be different from the norm! Can't have that! Call her disabled and ship her away!_

He sighed. _Maybe it's not a bad thing, though._ His thoughts returned to what the nurse had told him. _"A more friendly community than others," he said. Filled with people that have experienced hardships that they didn't really have any control over. Does tend to make people more accepting of things, I've noticed. Most people, they just don't end up thinking about it, and they lash out without consideration._

He let the thought go, and looked up at the signs on some of the buildings. _Deli, bread store, cafe, Starbucks, thrift sho- _ He blinked. _Oh hey, a thrift shop, that's promising!_ He quickened his pace and entered.

Nearly half an hour later, he left with a rather eclectic set of objects; an old flashlight, a particularly beat up old boom box, a giant novelty ink pen, a bag full of miscellaneous junk, a couple spools of receipt paper, some old leather belts, some old sandals, an old trailer hitch, a tricorne, several hat pins, and a couple duffel bags. He worked everything but the tricorne into one of the bags, which he felt was of more use atop his head.

He didn't know for sure what he'd do with all of it, but he had ideas for most of it. He swung the duffel bag over his shoulder and continued his appraisal of the city.

A stop at a hardware store netted him a couple brass door kick plates, a spool of copper wire, a copy of his room key, a pack of small rubber washers, and a plus sized rubber coated hook. A quick trip to the lumber section netted him a few choice pieces of cheap scrap lumber. He stuffed all of this into his second duffel bag, and checked his watch.

_Almost ten,_ he thought, and yawned. _Time to call it a day._

As he retraced his path back to the bus stop, he noticed a somewhat thuggish guy almost his age staring at him in disgust. He met his eyes and stared back, hard and unblinking. The impromptu staring contest lasted for a few seconds before the guy's eyes widened and he turned his head.

Maru passed the thug silently, making sure that his eyes did not stray from straight forward. He listened, though, and hard; it wouldn't take much for the punk to run behind him and go for his kidneys with a knife. It had been a bad idea to stare him down, but being who he was he also couldn't resist it. _I am one stupid motherfucker,_ he reflected. _Damn force of habit's gonna be the death of me one of these days. Literally, at this rate._

He rounded a corner, leaned against the wall, and waited. A minute passed in tense silence, followed by another. The thug didn't follow. He let another minute pass before sighing and continuing on his way.

_Well, suppose I can count on watching my back here, too,_ he thought. _Damn pride. Well, at least no one's gonna miss my fool head if it gets taken. _ He snorted. _And I guess it's good to know I still have it. Simple stupid psych trick that it is. _ He sighed. _Fuck. Already had to move twice because of this sort of shit. Can't do that now, I think. Oh well. Let the chips fall where they may, I just don't care anymore._

By the time he got back to the dorms, it was almost ten thirty. He took the elevator to his floor, put his duffel bags next to his bed, went through his nightly routine, and laid down. Almost as soon as he had, he realized it was going to be one of _those_ nights, likely as a result of the events of the day.

As he lay there, he let the mask he had worn all day fade away with a shuddering sigh. Lying down to sleep was always the worst on nights like that; it gave him time to think, and when that happened, his worst thoughts came out to play. He stared up at the ceiling as he tried to pre-emptively chase the thoughts away by running though the events of the day.

Unsurprisingly, Hanako came to mind first, and the way she had ran from him both times they had met. _I always did have a way with the ladies,_ he thought snidely. His thoughts continued to his visit to the city. He glanced over in the direction of the stuff he had found and purchased, and sighed.

_What's the point of it, I wonder? Of any of it? Coming to this school, getting stuff like that... In the end, what's the point?_ He sighed again and turned his eyes back to the ceiling. _Is there a point? There wasn't before. And then..._ He shuddered. _Maybe I should have just died in the accident. _ He rolled his eyes. _Of course, it wouldn't have mattered probably anyway._

Maru's thoughts took darker and darker turns, as he began the usual series of insomniac exercises. Twenty minutes on the left side, ten on the right, fifteen on the back. Instead of going to the next step of trying to sleep in the chair, he got up, turned on the lights, and picked up the book he had gotten at the library. He read for half an hour, and then tried again. He fell into an uneasy sleep after another twenty minutes.

_He dreamed. Back to the day of the accident. Ice on the road. Hill. Car sliding out of control. A sigh of acceptance juxtaposed against his parents screams. There was fear. But not enough._

_Crash. Confusion. Quickly deflating airbag. Still alive, but in pain._

_Leg, gone. Crushed by driver's seat. Angle just right to save other leg. Blood, but not much. Most of that from front seat._

_Seat angle just enough to see Father. Moment of nausea. Mother, tree branch. Both dead. Shock of event and pain dilute ability to mourn._

_Arm, stuck. Piece of machinery held it to roof. Moment of awe. It was the car's transmission. Tug. Too stuck to be just roof. Maybe another tree limb. Glance at mother, look away._

_A pop. A hiss. Smell of gasoline. Not much, but worrying. Thought of burning to death worse than thought of expected outcome of crash._

_Another pop. Mother burning. Hand burning. Redouble efforts to free hand. Raw edge of panic, forced away._

_Freedom impossible. Flame licking up arm, pat out. Panic returning. Hold it at bay, try to think._

_Options, few and unpleasant. Item on hand. Folding knife. Cheap. Probably stolen. Stolen again by him. Inanity of reflection focused thoughts for critical moment. Pulled from pocket. Unfolded with thumb._

_Flame reaching further down arm. Panic, this time let loose with purpose._

_He stabbed and he stabbed and his arm would not come free-_

Maru's eyes snapped open and he clutched the bedspread with a grimace, sweating.

"Shit!" He willed his breathing to slow down, and with glacial slowness his body responded to the command. Once he was sure he had steadied himself not to inadvertently shout, he began to speak to the empty air. "Goddamn. Twice in a row? Seriously? Fucking shit." He heaved a sigh between breaths. "Crash one again. Suppose I should count my blessings." He snorted. "Can't blame myself for that one."

He rubbed his eyes, and stopped only when a kaleidoscope of light told him that he was overdoing it. "Fucking... fuck." _A delightfully eloquent way to start the day,_ he decided irritatedly as he sat up and rubbed his face. _Well, I'm not getting back to sleep. Shit. What time is it? Four sixt- shit. Well, may as well get up. Not like it's that far off from when I normally get up anyway..._

It took him another couple minutes to persuade himself to actually get out of bed, in spite of that. It only served to make rolling out of bed onto his face all the more bitter.

"Oh for fuck's sake," he muttered from his position on the floor before sighing. "Well, good to know what sort of day this is going to be." He levered himself up into a sitting position on the floor, and rubbed his nose. _Oh good, not bleeding. Thank goodness for small miracles._ He looked at his foot which was thoroughly tangled in the bedspread, and shook his head.

He looked around as he pried the bedspread off of his foot, and blinked in confusion. _Huh? Where... oh._ Memories began to return, and he sighed. _Not off to a good start here, am I? Scared that poor girl, twice... Possibly offended my neighbor... Other neighbor's completely off his gourd... Oh, and having a nightmare two nights in a row, complete with epic faceplant. Yay._

Maru shook it off as he stood up, free from the sheet. _Well, can't go slacking off._ He started his morning stretches, dressed, strapped on his leg, and then headed down to the auxiliary building in the hopes that the gym would be open at such an early hour.

It was, and he spent the better part of the next hour pumping iron after roping one of the staffers into fitting him with a prosthetic and spotting for him. He then went back to the dorm, took a thorough shower, and followed the surge of people going to the cafeteria. Some food and most of a pot of coffee later, and he felt more or less prepared to face the day.

His next destination was the classroom. He would be early, but he didn't really care; he could always make a proper entrance after lunch. As he walked into the classroom, he noted that there was already someone else in the room.

Hanako sat at her desk with a book in hand. As he plowed in, she looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Eep!" Maru darted out of the room. He almost tripped. He grabbed the doorframe to steady himself. _Okay, that was awkward,_ he thought as he peaked past the doorframe at Hanako.

She was staring at him, her mouth hanging open slightly in confusion.

"I, uh..." He slowly worked his way back into the room. "Sorry, I just..." He shook his head. "Um, if I sit down, you're not going to, er, run away again, are you? I didn't mean to frighten you either time, and I, er..." He scratched the back of his head.

"It-it's alright," Hanako said, backing into her chair.

"Kinda feel like a bit of a jerk all the same," Maru said as he approached gingerly. "I really didn't mean to startle..."

"D-don't worry about it," she replied.

"...Alright," he said. "Um..." He shook his head again. "I'll just... shut up now." She didn't say anything to that, and he sighed. _Yeah, this day's looking up and up..._

* * *

I'd like to thank Alpha Centori and Yeah Way for reviewing! So thank you! Alpha Centori, glad to see I wasn't the only one that was thinking that. ;) Yeah Way, woo! Thank you for reviewing 5, no one else had! XD Glad to see another fan of Starcraft and/or Tvtropes here! And also a fan of the WorldWar series, to boot, awesome. :D

Anyway, I hope this isn't too much for a T rating, but if you think it is, let me know? Like I say, I think it straddles the line, but doesn't quite cross.


	10. Smalltalk

Hisao woke up in a strange room. Solid morning light shimmered against the light gray ceiling. He realized he'd forgotten to draw the curtains closed the night before.

_I?_ He blinked. _This is my room, isn't it? My room... The third room this year that I'm supposed to call "mine."_ Various things around the room reminded him that he was indeed the person who was supposed to be living there. His bags on the floor, his new school books on the desk. _My numerous medications on the night table._

He stared at the bottles for a moment, deliberating, until he opened a bottle, shook out a pill, and popped out a tablet from a foil sheet. He downed them with a chaser of water without thinking about the chemistry. Finally, he slunk out from under the sheets and stretched his back.

_Putting on a new school uniform feels like dressing in someone else's clothes,_ he reflected as he donned his new apparel. The artificial smell of generic detergent made him frown, but the feeling of fresh cloth against his back was a good one, a natural one.

_It feels like a school uniform, as it should. It's not much different from what I used to wear before._ He nodded to himself. _That goes for other things, too. So far, this place seems more or less like a normal school._ He sighed. _Except for the people._ He thought back to his talk with Kenji, Misha's constant laughter, Shizune's sweeping sign language gestures, and Maru's melodrama.

_Well, I've only met four students so far,_ Hisao thought. _Maybe they aren't that normal, but I'm sure others are. Or, perhaps, people like them are what passes for normal around here? Yeah, what does pass for normal around here? What do people do? I didn't see a lot of kids hanging around after classes yesterday, so maybe there are clubs. If so, I wonder if I should join one._

When he got to class, everyone was already there for the most part. Maru looked unusually sullen, at least when compared to the day before, and he almost decided to walk over and ask what was up. His thoughts were interrupted by the bell however, and he went to his seat instead.

Class went on much as it had the day before, and soon it was time to split into groups. Hisao once more ended up grouped with Shizune and Misha. He decided to ask Shizune about clubs. _After all, she did say if I had anything I wanted to know, I should ask her,_ he rationalized.

Shizune stared at him for a moment after he asked his question, then crossed her arms and shifted her gaze slowly to Misha, who looked more and more preoccupied with trying to grind the eraser of her pencil down so that the top was perfect and evenly flat. Shizune gave the pink haired girl a glare that could melt straight through steel.

"Ahaha~!" Misha finally responded to the silent summoning. "Sorry, sorry, Shicchan~! Is there something you wanted from me?"

Shizune signed.

"Oh~... I see!" Misha frowned. "Hm... That's a good question, Hicchan."

_She doesn't know? That's worrying..._ He frowned. _Maybe I'm being too negative. Well, anyway, Misha, please don't prove me right._

Shizune signed again.

"Oh, that's right!" Misha smiled. "Everyone is encouraged to join a club. A lot of people do so because there isn't really anything else to do. There are also school events, like the festival coming up in a few days. Almost every student in the school tends to help out with it, doing whatever." She grinned. "So~! You actually transferred in at a busy time... maybe you can help out, too~!"

"Sure," Hisao replied. "What's the festival about?"

Misha froze, then grinned. "...Wahahaha~! I don't know, Hicchan, the truth is it's a local event, and I'm not from this area, so..." She started to sign desperately to Shizune, asking for her to bail her out.

Shizune adjusted her glasses at the end of an oddly grandiose flourish and started signing hard and heavy.

"Huh? Oh." Misha nodded and grinned. "Who cares?" Misha puffed her chest out as she shouted Shizune's words with a disproportionate amount of pride. Her loud exclamation drew attention from the whole class.

"The invisible watchers?" Maru suggested from his side of the room.

"Wahahaha~!" Misha grinned.

"Not so loud...," complained Hisao.

Misha frowned. "Human beings evolve with each new generation! The ideals and beliefs behind a festival will inevitably change with time!"

Shizune signed again with a frown.

"Now, it's about delicious fried food and amusing little games that you play to win prizes~!" Misha grinned again. "Hahahaha~!"

The teacher cleared his throat very loudly, and batted his long wooden pointer against his other palm like a baton. He shot a pointed gaze at the trio.

Misha stifled a yelp and quickly quieted down. Shizune didn't seem embarrassed at all, though, and brushed it off without a care as she signed.

"We are in the middle of class, and should start working," Misha suggested with a frown that quickly turned into a smile. "That's right, Shicchan~!"

Shizune and Misha shared a suspicious glance before Shizune began to sign again, a predatory look on her face.

"What?" Misha raised a finger. "That's right~! Hicchan, are you asking because you're interested in joining a club?"

Hisao blinked. _Did I imagine that glance? Misha's tone changed too..._ He frowned. _...though it does that every other word, anyway._ "Yeah, I was thinking about it."

Misha and Shizune looked at each other again.

Something dark fluttered in his peripheral vision, which distracted him from asking what they had in mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl with long, dark hair get up from her desk and slip silently towards the door.

For a moment he thought no one else noticed, but he saw Maru's eyes on the girl's back. _What, again?_ He glanced at the teacher, who was also looking at her as she left. _Why doesn't he say anything?_

"Hicchan?" Misha raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

_Do I look as uneasy as I feel?_ Hisao wondered. _Or was Misha just looking at me looking after the girl who left?_ "No, nothing," he said at last.

Shizune grinned.

"Okay~!" Misha smiled. "Well, like we were asking, you don't have any plans for lunch today, do you?"

_I thought I would go to the library and pick up some books._ He sighed. "...Not really."

Misha grinned. "Do you want to have lunch together then?"

"Sure," he replied.

Shizune smiled and nodded.

"Yay~!" Misha grinned. "Wahahaha~! Okay, Hicchan~! Perfect!"

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. The girl with the long hair never came back. Before he had the time to put any more thought into where she could have gone, the teacher informed everyone that it was time to stop working.

Shizune looked more than a little annoyed that the group only just barely managed to finish all the work on time.

Hisao was just glad it was finished at all. _It's not a contest or anything._

Shizune frowned and signed.

"Yes it is, Hicchan!" said Misha with a smirk.

"Impossible," he declared.

"Really?" Misha's smirk widened.

He nodded. "Really." _I've noticed this before, but it's kind of funny how Misha is always moving her hands and signing not only everything she says, but what anyone else is saying at any given time. Obviously, it must be so Shizune can understand it._

Shizune's eyes darted back and forth between Misha's hands and Hisao.

_I don't know who I'm supposed to be looking at,_ he reflected. _I'm talking to Misha, but that might be wrong; maybe I should face Shizune. I'm used to looking in the direction of the person whose voice I'm hearing, but really... Shizune can't hear me, but it would be disrespectful to talk to her only through Misha. Then again, isn't that what she's doing?_

He glanced at the two. _No, she's at least looking at me. This is all very confusing and will take some time to get used to._ "It's not a contest, because contests are competitions over a prize. If there's no prize on the line, it's not really a contest."

Shizune's eyes flashed dangerously with a competitive glare. She stared at him, as if surprised that he was challenging her.

_Maybe this _is_ a contest to her,'_ he reflected, and then blinked. _I never noticed how dark and blue her eyes are; it's truly an alluring gaze._

"Are you sure, Hicchan?" Misha asked.

"Very sure," Hisao replied.

Shizune signed.

"Hahaha!" Misha grinned. "You're wrong, Hicchan. Because~!, I don't want to be the slowest one in the class. Therefore, what's on the line is my confidence in my abilities, and the prize is the satisfaction of proving them. Wahahahaha~!"

Shizune pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose in a very matter-of-fact way.

He started to argue further, but the bell rang.

Shizune quickly got up and picked up her bag, and gave him an expectant look.

_I had almost forgotten that I was supposed to have lunch with them,_ he reflected.

Shizune signed something.

"Where do you want to eat?" Misha asked with a smirk.

"The cafeteria?" Hisao raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Hahaha~!" Misha grinned. "That's so plain... Okay~! Let's go!"

_Plain?_ he thought as he followed them. _Well I guess... At my old school, I liked to eat outside, near the back of the building. It was a good spot, but I didn't find it until near the end of my freshman year. I wonder if there is a similar place to eat here. Misha seems to imply as much._

Shizune and Misha pulled Hisao towards the cafeteria, which was surprisingly not packed.

_Maybe some students favor eating in classroom or outdoors,_ he thought. _I saw some of my classmates had boxed lunches._

After they finished eating, Misha picked up where they left off earlier. "So, Hicchan, you wanted to know about clubs and stuff, right?, right?~?"

Shizune signed something with an amused smile.

"Right, Shicchan!" Misha nodded. "Okay, I guess it makes sense to ask first."

Misha and Shizune exchanged little nods of confirmation, and then turned to face Hisao again. Misha straightened her posture as if she was about to deliver a speech.

"Hicchan," Misha asked, "do you have anything you're really interested in?"

"I used to play soccer, but I'm not really into it," Hisao admitted. "I don't follow the teams and players or anything like that." He shrugged. "As of late, I usually just read a lot."

"Hmm... There is a book club, right, Shicchan?" Misha asked. "Right~ But~!" It seems like they have all the members they can possibly have right now. Sorry, Hicchan... It's a really popular club."

Shizune signed something with a grin.

"Ah, okay!" Misha nodded. "But more to the point, Hicchan, does this mean you don't have anything already in mind?"

"Not really," he admitted.

Shizune signed something, and then adjusted her glasses.

"Good! Great~!" Misha grinned widely. "That's great, Hicchan! Really great! Hahaha~! Wahahahaha~!"

Hisao raised an eyebrow. "Why's this so great?"

"No reason," Misha replied with a cheeky grin. "Well, Hicchan, other than clubs and the upcoming festival, there is one other thing..." She posed dramatically. "Student Council!"

_I see,_ he thought. _I didn't know this school had a Student Council. That was a very melodramatic setup, though, just to tell me that._ He looked around for a moment. Sure enough, Maru was sitting at an adjacent table, looking on with interest along with the one-handed girl. _...Somehow, that fails to surprise me._

He looked at the two girls. _I'm pretty sure the two of them know how dramatic that was. Shizune looks a little embarrassed about it, and Misha's laughing._

Shizune quickly retook control of the discussion though, in a manner of speaking.

"Hahaha~! Hm?" Misha looked at the signing. "Right, right... Hicchan, maybe you should join the Student Council! They could use more people~. Yes! Definitely! You should definitely join!"

"Why?"

"Well, for one," Misha began with crossed arms, "we could hang out every day, Hicchan~! Shicchan and I are both in the Student Council. Actually," she gestured toward Shizune, "Shicchan is the president."

_Hm... I'm starting to get the suspicion that Shizune and Misha might not exactly be the most unbiased people to talk about this with,_ Hisao thought.

Shizune, as if reading his mind, quickly adjusted her glasses and signed something to Misha.

"Hahaha~!" Misha grinned. "Of course, we're not trying to get you to join just because we would obviously benefit from you joining the Student Council and therefor have an incentive to try and get you to-"

Hisao coughed. "So, you're admitting that-"

Shizune signed rapidly.

"Ahaha~!" Misha shook her head. "No! We admit nothing~! I mean, Hicchan, of course it would be nice if you joined, and we'd appreciate it. But even without all that, joining the Student Council shows a healthy interest in the workings of one's school." She nodded. "Yup~! It's true, Hicchan. Besides, don't you want to spend time with us after school, Hicchan?"

_I can't tell if she is being genuine or if this is just really good acting,_ he thought. Both of them seemed to be trying hard to look their cutest, although he thought they were already pretty cute to begin with. "Well..."

Shizune signed something with a smile.

"So it's settled then," Misha said with a grin. "Welcome to the Student Council, Hicchan~!"

"What?" Hisao grimaced. "No. No!"

"Awww..." Misha pouted. "See, Shicchan? Of course it wouldn't go so easily."

Shizune smirked as she signed.

"Yup!" Misha smiled. "That's right, though, it would be boring if it went that smoothly. Oh well~! Shicchan owes me candy now!"

"You were betting on it?" He raised an eyebrow. "Hey, my life is not a game here!"

Shizune's eyes take on a competitive glint.

"Wahaha~!" Misha's grin was larger than Australia. "That's interesting, Hicchan. Let's play a game!"

Hisao frowned. "That's not what I said."

"How about Rich Man, Poor Man, Hicchan?" Misha put her hands on her hips. "If you lose, you have to join the Student Council~!"

"No, absolutely not," he replied.

Misha pouted. "Aw~, why not?"

"Well, because you two both have the same incentive," he pointed out, "and therefore the same goal, which is to get me to join the Student Council, right?"

Shizune signed smugly.

"Yup!" Misha grinned.

"Yeah, that isn't my goal," said Hisao. "But what this means is that both of you can team up and I'll be at a clear disadvantage. So, I will have to decline."

Shizune frowned.

"Hicchan! I'm very offended!" Misha had her own frown. "Are you saying you don't trust us, and that we would pull something so d-dis-in-gen-u-ous...? That makes me sad..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sorry?" _It's hard to tell where Shizune's influence ends and Misha's thoughts begin._

Shizune's frown deepened.

"In order to atone for hurting a young girl's feelings," Misha announced, "you should definitely join the Student Council!"

Hisao's other eyebrow raised. "No!"

"How about a game of paper football," Misha suggested with a smile, "instead of Rich Man, Poor Man?"

He blinked. "Paper football?"

Misha grinned. "Yeah~! It's a game they play in America~! You make a paper triangle, and then you try to shoot it past goalposts that the other player makes with their fingers! Isn't it cool~? It's the ultimate form of competition between two people, Hicchan~!"

Shizune signed something.

Misha blinked. "...And it's also played by elementary and middle school children, Shicchan? Wahaha! That means it's a game that really separates the boys from the men!"

"More like the boys from the slightly older boys," Hisao observed wryly. "Anyway, I'm not going to play that either. Just the fact that you know about it means you're probably surprisingly good at it."

"Hahaha~!" Misha grinned wider. "Yeah, yeah~, that's true! How did you know, Hicchan?"

Shizune frowned at Misha, which clued Hisao in that she probably wasn't supposed to admit that so readily.

_I wouldn't say that I'm happy with their attempts to get me into the Student Council, but I'm a little curious about what the Student Council does here, _he thought. _I've never been on one before, or even known anybody who was a member, so it interests me. I also kind of like Shizune and Misha, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad._

Shizune signed something with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, Hicchan, how about Risk?" Misha smirked. "The game of world domination!"

Hisao frowned. "I don't know what that is."

"It's really fun, Hicchan," Misha said with her hands on her hips. "You fight for control of the world, with armies and everything."

_Sounds like Shizune would be good at it,_ he reflected.

"If you want to play," Misha said, "we can after school."

Shizune frowned and signed.

"Ah, really, Shicchan?" Misha raised an eyebrow. "We can play just for fun, Hicchan. Shicchan hasn't played in a long time, so if you want to, there are no strings attached~!"

"Well, okay...," Hisao said with a shrug.

"Okay!" Misha smiled. "Okay, okay~! Perfect~! We'll see you after school in the student council room, then, Hicchan!"

Hisao blinked. "Wait, why there?"

"Yes, why there?" asked Maru from behind Hisao, who jumped.

"Because~!" Misha grinned. "That's where we keep the game. Macchan, hi-hi~!"

Shizune signed something.

"What? Oh, do you have a question~?" Misha grinned at Maru.

"Just an observation," Maru replied. "Well, a few, really. I've been eavesdropping, I have to admit. You two have been rather heavy-handed trying to recruit this poor guy." He laid his hand on Hisao's shoulder.

Hisao gently brushed the hand off his shoulder with an annoyed frown.

Shizune signed something furiously.

"Huh?" Misha frowned. "Are you accusing-"

"I also note you're challenging a new guy to a game of Risk," Maru continued, undeterred. "In the council room. Alone. Against the two of you."

"Are you implying that I can't take care of myself?" Hisao asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not hardly," Maru replied. "Honestly, I just want to play a game of Risk, and this is as good a pretext as any." He paused, then grinned. "I mean, of course! I have to watch out for you, you know."

Hisao rolled his eyes. _I could have done without that last addition, even if I'm pretty sure he's kidding._

Shizune signed something with a smirk.

"Wahahahaha~!" Misha grinned. "Then meet us after class~!"

"Oh, it's on," said Maru with a competitive smirk. "I used to be pretty good, back in the day_." Geez, I hope I'm not writing a check my skills can't afford. It's been a long time since I played a good game of Risk._

Shizune looked at Maru with a matching competitive smirk.

"Ohhh~!" Misha grinned. "Shicchan says to bring your best game, since you challenged us like that."

"I'll do that," Maru said as he turned to leave.

Lunch ended shortly thereafter.

During afternoon classes, Hisao noticed the long-haired girl come back and sit down in her seat without word. The only one he noticed have any reaction was Maru, who gave her a nod. He thought about asking Misha about it, but didn't want to be nosy.

* * *

Oh my word, I didn't expect my last chapter to get so many reviews! Thank you all so much! Alpha Centori, I still keep thinking of Weird Al when you mention that song. XD Yeah Way, it'll be tricky, but that's what character files are for. ;) The Mad Author, I'm glad you like it so far! James Birdsong, it is indeed 9 chapters, and now 10. :P I was gonna message you thanks, but apparently you have PMs disabled (which I didn't even know you could do), so yeah. Thank you all the same! AnimatorKing, I'm glad you found the story worth reading straight through! I hope you continue to find it interesting!

Anyway, I must apologize for how closely this chapter follows canon. Darn necessities. Fortunately, the next chapter will be a bit better in terms of that, so that's something to look forward to.


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